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From Literary California. — Mighel 

The children's statue of the Pioneer Mother. 

"The only church we knew was around our mother's knee " — 

Stephen M. White. 



LESSONS 

IN 

CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



BY 

HARR WAGNER 

AUTHOR OF PACIFIC HISTORY STORIES 

AND 

MARK KEPPEL 

COUNTY SUPIRINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS OF LOS ANGELES 
COUNTY 




'Westward the Star of Empire takes its tt'^.v"-- Berkeley 



Copyright 1922 by 
Harr Wagner 



HARR WAGNER PUBLISHING COMPANY 

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 



U S^ I 



Wii> 




00731*9? 

©C1A6&0313 



PREFACE 

The writers of this history have aimed to give 
each chapter a beginning, a middle and an end. Each 
topic is complete in itself. An attempt has been made 
to put some life in the pages by going into details 
that have a human interest which the formal his- 
torical writer would consider more or less trivial. 
Special emphasis has been placed on the early dis- 
coveries by sea and land and the idea has been to 
correlate the facts of geography and history so this 
.book will furnish material in harmony with such 
books as ''California" and ''The Home and Its Re- 
lation to the World" by Dr. H. W. Fairbanks. 

Tourists and students have a special interest in 
the Spanish historical relationships. Architecture, 
especially the modern school buildings and private 
homes, the olive, the orange and the vine and other 
fruits and even our hospitality, are a part of Cali- 
fornia's Spanish heritage. 

The discovery of gold, the American settlements, 
the building of the great state of California during 
the past seventy years, are treated by the presenta- 
tion of types of pioneers and stories of struggles and 
difficulties of the early settlers. Special emphasis has 
been placed upon the story of education, the story of 
literature, the story of the state government and Cal- 
ifornia's contribution to the common wealth, on ac- 
count of their influence upon the social conditions of 
our state. The aim has been to stimulate the love of 
the people for California; to keep alive the memo- 



ries of the pioneers and the men and women who 
contributed to the wholesome pubHc sentiment that 
has brought about our great commonwealth and 
translated it into socialized uses. 

We believe that the illustrations will be of un- 
usual value, as they have been selected for their his- 
torical interest rather than scenic effects. Less em- 
phasis than is usual has been placed on our wars and 
more emphasis has been placed on our literature and 
heroes of thought. 

The compilation of California names and their de- 
rivations will be useful as well as interesting. 

The writers have aimed, not only to make children 
think, but to give them something to think about. 

The authors are especially indebted to Ruth Thomp- 
son, author of ''Comrades of the Desert" and ''Type 
Stories of the World for Little Folk," for research 
work, revision of manuscript and the preparation of 
several chapters; to Roy Cloud, Superintendent of 
Schools, San Mateo County, for the chapter on trans- 
portation; to J. D. Sweeney, Superintendent of the 
Red Bluff schools and special student of California 
history, who contributed the chapter on John Bid- 
well; to Harry Noyes Pratt for revision and sev- 
eral sections; to C. B. Turrill for photographs and 
source material; and to William M. Culp for sug- 
gestions and photographs. 

HARR WAGNER. 
MARK KEPPEL. 



CONTENTS 

Chapter I — Balboa 9 

Project — Discovery of the South Sea by Balboa in 1513. 

Chapter II— Magellan 14 

Project — The first trip around the world, and naming the 
Pacific Ocean, 1520. 

Chapter III — Cortes 17 

Project — The conquest of Mexico and all lands to the north 
by the Spaniards from 1519 to 1540. 

Chapter IV— Cabrillo 20 

Proj-ect — The search for the Straits of Anian, 1542. 

Chapter V — Vaca 23 

Project — Cabeza De Vaca, or the search for the fabled cities 
of Cibola, 1528-1539. 

Chapter VI — Vizcaino 25 

Project — The discovery of the bay of Monterey in 1596. 

Chapter VII — Sir Francis Drake 28 

Project — In search of gold and th-e "Straits of Anian" or the 
northwest passage, 1539-1596. 

Chapter VIII — The Spanish Settlements 33 

Project — The settlement of California by the Spaniards, 1769 
to 1815. 

Chapter IX — ^Juan Bautista Anza 51 

Project — The founding of San Francisco, 1744 to 1775. 

Chapter X — The Indians of California 59 

Project — A study of the native Indian tribes from 1769 to 1922. 

Chapter XI — The Spanish Governors of California 78 

Project — The government of California by the Spaniards, 
1770 to 1822. 

Chapter XII — The Mexican Governors 85 

Project — California ruled by the Mexicans from 1823 to July 
7, 1846. 

Chapter XIII — The Russians in California 98 

Project — The settlement of the Pacific Coast, including Cali- 
fornia, by Russians, 1781 to 1841. 

Chapter XIV— Romantic California 102 

Project— The social life from 1770 to 1846. 
Chapter XV— Jedediah Smith 112 

Project — The first overland journ-ey to California, 1826. 
Chapter XVI — John Charles Fremont 115 

Project — Explorations of western territory and life of John 
Charles Fremont from 1840 to 1890. 



Chapter XVII— John Bidwell 139 

Project — The pioneer settlement in Northern California, 1841, 

Chapter XVIII — Peter Lassen, Pioneer 145 

Chapter XIX— The Donner Party 149 

Project — Crossing the plains in covered wagons, 1846. 

Chapter XX — The Discovery of Gold 160 

Project — The production of gold in California, 1848. 

Chapter XXI— Dr. Josiah Gregg 184 

Project — The exploration of Humboldt Bay region, 1849. 

Chapter XXII— William Lewis Manly 195 

Project — The discovery of Death Valley, 1850. 

Chapter XXIII — California Admitted to the Union 201 

Project — California's admission to the Union of States, Sep- 
tember 9, 1850. 

Chapter XXIV — Governors Under American Rule 209 

Project — The political growth of California, 1846-1922. 

Chapter XXV — Education 213 

Project — The public school system, 1850 to 1922. 

Chapter XXVI — Literature of California 223 

Project — The Study of California in literature, art and music, 
1852 to 1922. 

Chapter XXVII— Industrial Wealth 239 

Project — California's contribution to the common wealth. 
Chapter XXVIII— Stephen Mallory White 246 

Project — A typical Native Son. 
Chapter XXIX — Transportation 252 

Project — The story of building the first transcontinental 

railroad. 

Chapter XXX— Imperial Valley 260 

Project — The development of a desert by irrigation. 
Chapter XXXI — Conservation 267 

Proj-ect — Our State and National Parks. 
Chapter XXXII — Cities with a Historical Background 271 
Project — San Francisco, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego, 
Sacramento, Long Beach, Berkeley, Pasadena, Fresno, 
Stockton, San Jose, Santa Barbara. 

Appendix 307 

Places connected with California history. List of Governors 
of California. California names, derivation, pronunciation 
and meanings. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



BALBOA 

PROJECT— DISCOVERY OF THE SOUTH SEA BY 
BALBOA, IN 1513. 

Topics — The First Authentic Record of the Discovery 
of the South Sea. The Lure of Gold. The Native In- 
dians. The Importance of Balboa's Discovery. 

CHAPTER I 

September 29, 1513, twenty-one years after Colum- 
bus discovered America, Balboa discovered the Pacific 
Ocean. Long before Balboa stood upon the mountain 
peak in Darien, men of other countries had come to 
the lands washed by the sunset seas. Scientists have 
discovered strange signs and symbols which prove 
that for centuries before the intrepid Spanish explor- 
ers set foot on this soil, other men of other lands had 
been here before them. In view of the fact, however, 
that Balboa was the first to leave an authentic record 
of his discoveries, he is given first place in the history 
of Cahfornia. 

While the first Spanish explorer to connect his 
name directly with California was Hernando Cortes, 
who landed at Vera Cruz six years after Balboa dis- 
covered the Pacific, yet it was Balboa's daring that 



10 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

opened the various trails which led to the develop- 
ment of the lands bordering on the great western sea. 

Balboa was born in Spain in 1475. When a boy of 
seventeen he heard stories of the new world as told 
by Columbus and his men. Without waiting to make 
any preparations he sailed for liayti, then known by 
the musical name of Hispaniola. He engaged in farm- 
ing with no great success. When Encisco decided to 
go on a voyage of discovery, Balboa, to escape his 
creditors, hid himself in a barrel which was rolled on 
board the ship. When he was discovered, the ship be- 
ing too far out at sea to put him off, and Balboa ex- 
plaining to Encisco, the captain, that he knew where 
there was a land of much gold, it was decided to make 
use of him. Balboa became very popular with the 
ship's crew. He was chosen as their leader in place 
of Encisco before Darien was reached. 

The native Indians, dressed in skins of wild beasts, 
met the Spaniards at Darien. They became very 
friendly with them. Balboa learned from them that 
there was gold and a great body of water on the 
other side of the mountain. 

Balboa made up his mind that he would cross this 
mountain and find out if the stories he had heard 
were true. He took with him about two hundred 
men, a number of blood hounds, and some of the na- 
tive Indians of Darien. 

On the sixth of September, 1513, Balboa began his 
march to the sea across what is now known as the 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 11 

Isthmus of Panama, along the route of the Panama 
Canal which the United States built under the leader- 
ship of Theodore Roosevelt. This trail was also 
used by many of the pioneers of 1849 and 1850. 

It was a difficult trip, as the Isthmus of Panama 
is under the path of the sun and the people had 
not yet learned how to keep well in a tropical climate. 

When they came near the highest part of the 
mountain, Porque, an Indian chief, with one thou- 
sand men, met Balboa and his party. ''What do you 
want?" he demanded. 'T will not permit you to 
pass." Balboa attempted to march on in spite of the 
chief's threats. When the Indians showed battle, the 
Spaniards attacked them with their weapons. Many 
Indians were killed. 

With about sixty of his men, Balboa started the 
climb to the summit of the mountain. The under- 
brush was so thick the men had to cut paths with 
their sabers. 

At last Balboa reached the top of the mountain, 
and as Keats said of Cortes, he stood "Silent upon 
a peak in Darien." Before him was the great ocean. 
He turned to his men and said: ''There is the re- 
ward for your labors. You are the first Christians 
to behold that sea !" They built a cross on the moun- 
tain top and piled stones around it. 

On September 29, 1513, Balboa, dressed in his ar- 
mor, holding his sword and with the flag of Spain 
in his hand, waded into the water. 'T take posses- 



12 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 




CALIFORNIA HISTORY 13 

sion of the Southern Sea with all its islands and all 
the shores washed by its waves," he declared. A 
paper was then drawn up and signed by each man 
describing their discovery of the great body of water 
which they named the Southern Sea. 

On their return Balboa and his men attempted to 
force Poncra, an Indian chief, to reveal to them the 
source of the large quantities of gold that he pos- 
sessed. He refused and was tortured and put to 
death. 

After this cruel incident Balboa and his men re- 
turned in triumph to Darien. It had taken a little 
more than four months to make the trip. In Europe 
the news of the discovery created almost as much 
of a sensation as the discovery of America by Co- 
lumbus. 

The King of Spain appointed Pedraris Davila as 
governor over all the lands and Indians discovered 
by Balboa. Balboa, who was the commander, re- 
signed all his interests to the new governor and un- 
dertook many important expeditions. His success 
created a jealous enmity on the part of Davila, and 
when Balboa learned of this feeling toward him he 
surrendered himself, thinking he would be given pro- 
tection. 

Instead of being protected, Balboa was tried for 
treason. In violation of all forms of justice he was 
beheaded at a place called Santa Maria, in 1517, just 
four years after his discovery of the Southern Sea. 



14 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



CHAPTER 11 



MAGELLAN 

PROJECT — THE FIRST TRIP AROUND THE 
WORLD, AND NAMING OF THE PACIFIC 
OCEAN, 1520. 

Topics — Magellan's Ambition. The Straits of Magellan. 
The Discovery of the Potato. Naming the Pacific. 
The story of Fernan Magellan's life and voyage 
of discovery had a direct influence on the history 
of California and its neighbors across the sea. Ma- 
gellan was born in Portugal near Oporto in 1481. 

When a lad he be- 
came ambitious to 
explore land and 
sea. He served his 
King in a number 
of exploits and then 
^ I requested that he 
_^yjj, ^^ be sent westward 
^^rr^r^^^^r"^- '-'" across the Atlantic 
to India. 

The King of 

The type of ship used by the daring Portugal WOUld not 





navigators on the early voyages 
of discovery 



listen to Magel- 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 15 

lan's proposal. He then went to Spain, and after 
much pleading, Charles V gave him five ships and 
he sailed from Spain in August, 1519. 

After several months the ship reached the coast 
of South America. The men were glad to be on land 
again where they could shoot the wild game and 
where they discovered many interesting things in 
the new country. There were monkeys, parrots and 
many strange birds, and one of the men found in the 
ground an oval-shaped tuber that resembled an Ital- 
ian chestnut. It was a potato. Sir John Hawkins, 
mentioned frequently in United States and English 
history, a few years later took the potato to Ireland 
and it became known as the Irish potato. 

On October 21, 1520, Magellan was delighted, for 
he had found the strait that now bears his name. 
After much trouble, due to storms and uncharted wa- 
ters, one of his ships that had sailed on ahead 
returned and saluted Magellan as follows: 'Traise 
God, we have found the outlet. We have seen the 
great ocean beyond." The men at once desired to 
sail out on the trackless and nameless ocean. This 
Magellan consented to do. 

One day while the sea was calm and the ship was 
making no progress, Magellan called his men to- 
gether and said: ''Comrades, we are on an unknown 
sea. No ship has ever sailed these gentle waters, 
four hundred years and more this body of water has 
I will christen this calm, quiet sea the Pacific." For 



16 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

been known as the Pacific Ocean, although it is not 
always gentle. 

After many hardships due to sickness and hunger, 
the ships reached the Philippine Islands, then known 
as Spice Islands, and Magellan converted many of 
the natives to Christianity. In a battle with some 
unfriendly savages Magellan was killed. Of the two 
hundred and twenty-six men who started on the voy- 
age only eighteen lived to return to Spain and only 
one ship, the V^ictoria, returned. Magellan was a 
daring man and his ship, Victoria, was the first to 
sail around the world. . 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 17 



CHAPTER III 

CORTES 

PROJECT— THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO AND ALL 
LANDS TO THE NORTH BY THE SPANIARDS 
FROM 1519 TO 1540. 

Topics — The Conquest of Mexico. The First Shipyard 
on the Pacific Coast, 1522. The First Settlement in 
Lower California at La Paz, 1535. The Origin and 
Derivation of the Name California. 

Eollowing the discovery of America by Columbus 
in 1492, Cortes with a small army sailed into the 
Mexican harbor of Vera Cruz in 1519. In order that 
his men should be successful and fight desperately 
if necessary, he ordered his ship to be burned. His 
little army then marched through the tropical jungle, 
up the steep mountain sides to table lands of the 
great valley in which the old Aztec city of Mexico 
is located. Montezuma, the Indian chieftain, was 
friendly, but he was killed and Cortes as conqueror 
assumed the title of ruler of all Mexico. It was not 
long until the urge came to him to make explora- 
tions to the north. The stories of the Straits of An- 
ian which, like the Straits of Magellan in the south, 



18 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

would open a new way in the north from the Pacific 
to the Atlantic, interested him. Then there were the 
Isles of the Amazon"* where nobody dwelt but wom- 
en, and stories of rich kingxloms, a terrestial paradise 
with cities of gold and other marvels that people of 
four centuries ago talked about. Is it any wonder 
that after he had established his new government 
in Mexico he planned for voyages of discovery in 
the north? 

In 1522 he founded the first shipyard at Zacatula 
on the Pacific Coast. After various difficulties and 
delays, ships were equipped and several unsuccessful 
voyages were made. Finally Cortes fitted out an ex- 
pedition under the command of Bercerra in 1533. The 
crew became dissatisfied and murdered Bercerra, and 
Fortun Jiminez was chosen as captain. The ship sail- 
ed into a harbor now known as La Paz, Lower Cal- 
ifornia. So far as is known, Jiminez was the first 
white man to set foot on California soil. He and 
twenty others were killed by the Indians. The men 
who survived returned and reported that there were 
islands of pearls in the vicinity of La Paz It was 



* "I shall journey in search of the Incan Isles, 
Go far and away to traditional land, _ 
Where love is que-en in a crown of smiles, 
And battle has never imbrued a hand; 

"Where man has never despoil'd or trod; 

Where woman's hand with a woman's heart 
Has fashion'd an Eden from man apart, 
And walks in her garden alon-e with God." 

— Joaquin Miller. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 19 

this report that finally led Vizcaino fifty years later 
to make his important voyage. 

Cortes, not discouraged, fitted out and accompan- 
ied a new expedition of three ships in 1535 and sailed 
from Mexico. He landed at La Paz, named by 
Cortes, Santa Cruz, on May 3, 1535, and founded 
the first Spanish settlement in California. It was 
soon after this that the name California was applied 
to all the territory north of Mexico bordering on the 
sea, from the Gulf of Mexico to the mythical Straits 
of Anian. Pages have been written on the name, its 
derivation and when first applied. There are vari- 
ous theories about the origin of the name. There are 
some authorities that quote a romance of Ordonez 
de Montalvo, who published the story in four vol- 
umes between the years 1492 and 1534, in which ap- 
pears the name Queen Calafia of the Island Califor- 
nia. Others claim it was taken from two Latin words, 
"Calida Fornax", meaning hot furnace, or from the 
Spanish word of Catalan origin, Calif orno — hot oven ; 
Cal y Forno — lime — furnace. 

After making the settlement at La Paz, Cortes in 
1539 sent out other expeditions. One, under com- 
mand of Ulloa, discovered that Baja California was 
not an island but a peninsula. In 1540 Cortes re- 
turned to Spain and died in 1547. He was the first 
of those great Spanish explorers who laid the foun- 
dation of a mighty civilization, not only of Califor- 
nia, but the entire west coast of America. 



20 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



CHAPTER IV 

CABRILLO 
PROJECT— THE SEARCH FOR THE STRAITS OF 

ANIAN,- 1542. 

Topics — Discovery of the Bay of San Diego. Port Los 
Angeles. San Miguel. "Sail North." Cabrillo Not in 
Search of Gold. 

On the twenty-eighth of September, 1542, Cabrillo, 
a native of Portugal, sailed from Natividad on the 
coast of Mexico in search of the Straits of Anian, 
and with his two ships entered the beautiful and won- 
derful bay of San Diego. 

Here first on California's soil, 

Cabrillo walked the lonesome sands; 
Here first the Christian standard arose 
Upon the sea-washed Western lands, 
And Junipero Serra first laid loving hands. 

(From ''At San Diego Bay," by Madge 
Morris Wagner.) 

He named the bay San Miguel. He also gave to 
the bay of Magdalena and many of the other coast 
inlets and bays the names they now bear. 

Cabrillo remained in San Diego bay for six days 
and he and his men became friendly with the native 
Indians and gave them presents. The Indians in 
turn welcomed the strange men of the white race. 
By signs and other means they told of white men, 



* A mythical route by water, suggested by Marco Polo, which 
navigators were interested in discovering. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



21 






OJ^AKe'S BAY: Cm9) 

SAA/ F£A/^C/SCO:CAYAlA-n7S / ^ 
\j onSfTip^S^nCeri'losV 

vA10AfT£/^BY: (VIZCAINO -fS96) 

SA/^TA BAflBAflAXCA&afLLO-/SAt} 
LOS ANCBLBS-CCABR/LIQ -JS4t) 

(CABBfUO -/S42) 
'(V/ZCAiNO ~^S96) 




Graphic map, showing the general routes of discoveries 
by sea, 1542-1679. 



22 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

referring no doubt to Coronado and others who had 
traveled into the land now known as Arizona and 
New Mexico. 

Cabrillo sailed up the coast. He gave names to 
many of the places where he anchored. At a little 
harbor at the island of San Miguel, near the present 
location of Santa Barbara, he fell and broke his arm. 
Although he sailed further north he was taken seri- 
ously ill, due to the fact that his injured arm did 
not have proper medical attention, and returned to 
San Miguel, where he died. His last words to his 
faithful crew were ''Sail north". 

The pilot, Ferrelo, took charge of the ship and 
sailed north past the greatest harbor on the Pacific 
Coast, San Francisco Bay. 

He sailed on until he reached the Oregon coast, 
where he encountered severe storms. Many of his 
crew died from exposure. They were forced to re- 
turn, and after many hardships the men reached port 
in Mexico. 

Cabrillo's discovery of the coast of California is 
one of greatest historical importance. He was a 
brave man. He was not in search of gold and plun- 
der like so many of the daring adventurers and dis- 
coverers of his time. His record of friendship with 
the natives and the diaries kept by his men show him 
to be a man of true courage and with a desire to be 
of service to mankind. California should erect a great 
monument to this hero of peaceful exploration. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 23 



CHAPTER V 



VACA 



PROJECT— CABEZA DE VACA, OR THE SEARCH 
FOR THE FABLED CITIES OF CIBOLA. 

Topics — The Discovery and Settlement of Territory by 
the Spaniards, inland. Friar Marcos and His Imag- 
ination. 

The ''Northern Mystery", the Straits of Anian, 
stimulated the voyages of discovery of Cabrillo, Cor- 
tes, Coronado, who explored the Colorado territory 
in 1541, and many others. The legend of the fabled 
isles of the Amazon, like the Fountain of Youth of 
Ponce de Leon, lured men on to daring adventures. 
The Seven Cities of Cibola also played an important 
part in the exploration and settlement of territory 
by the Spaniards in Arizona, New Mexico and fur- 
ther north. It is reported that some of the Spaniards 
went as far north as what we know as South Dakota. 

The legend of the ''Seven Cities" is as follows: 
Cabeza de Vaca, who was in 1528 with Narvaez in 
Florida, but escaped when so many of the ill-fated 
expedition were killed, made a perilous trip from 
Florida across the section of country now known as 



24 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, and into Mexico, 
where he told the wonderful story of his perilous 
adventures, including his capture by Indians and 
his escape. 

He described the Seven Cities of Cibola, of which 
he had heard on his journey. Vaca did not actually 
see the cities, but passed near them. The Seven Cit- 
ies of gold stimulated many adventures. Cortes, the 
Viceroy of Mexico, in 1539 sent Friar Marcos and 
a negro servant to search for the Cities. The In- 
dians were hostile, the negro was killed, and Friar 
Marcos, after enduring many hardships, returned. 

Friar Marcos is supposed to have had a vivid imag- 
ination and described the Cities as larger than the 
City of Mexico, and that the roofs of the houses and 
the domes of the large buildings were of gold. John 
S. McGroarty, who has made a special study of the 
Seven Cities of Cibola, says that Friar Marcos was 
not a liar, that he probably saw a Moqui Indian vil- 
lage in the distance with the golden afterglow of 
the sun on its glistening walls. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 25 



CHAPTER VI 

VIZCAINO 

PROJECT — THE DISCOVERY OF THE BAY OF 
MONTEREY IN 1596-1602. 

Topics — In Search of Pearl Fisheries. The Change of 
Name of Bay of San Miguel to Bay of San Diego. The 
Discovery and Naming of the Bay of Monterey in 
Honor of Conde de Monterey, Viceroy of Mexico. 

For nearly fifty years after Cortes returned to 
Spain there were no important developments in the 
way of new discoveries on the California coast by 
Spaniards. Then in 1596 Vizcaino, a merchant, se- 
cured permission of the viceroy of Mexico, Conde de 
Monterey, to fit out an expedition to sail to Califor- 
nia to take possession of the pearl fisheries in Baja 
California. He sailed from Acapulco, and entered 
the harbor of Santa Cruz, which he named La Paz 
(peace). He arrived in August and in October sailed 
north, but on account of storms, lack of provisions 
and hostile Indians he returned to new Spain. He 
reported, however, that " Pearls were abundant ", 
that 'The waters were richer in fish than any other 
known". He also described 'Towns of people wear- 



26 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

ing clothes, and who have golden ornaments in their 
ears and noses". Vizcaino wanted to make another 
voyage, but he could not get the consent of the vice- 
roy. It was not until the year 1602 that the expe- 
dition was ready. He was provided with three ships 
and about two hundred men, sailors and soldiers. 
The Government ordered him to make a thorough 
exploration of the coast from Cape San Lucas to 
Cape Mendocino. He was ordered, however, to make 
no settlements, and to avoid conflicts with the In- 
dians. Vizcaino anchored in the Bay of San Miguel 
and gave it the name of San Diego. From this port 
he sailed north through the Santa Barbara channel 
and up the coast until he discovered the bay which 
was named by him Monterey in honor of the Viceroy 
of New Spain. They also named the Carmelo River. 
The discovery of Monterey Bay, however, was the 
most important event of the voyage. They reported 
the Bay of Monterey as such a wonderful harbor 
that for many years after men went in search of the 
sheltered bay described by Vizcaino and his men. 

Vizcaino had many hardships. He sailed north as 
far as Cape Mendocino. The cold was intense, many 
of his men were sick, and after sailing still farther 
north, he returned and sailed south, and after many 
hardships, and with forty to fifty deaths among the 
men of his crew, he reached New Spain. He was 
given special honors as the discoverer of the Bay of 
Monterey. For nearly one hundred and fifty years 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 27 

California in silent grandeur was undisturbed by 
aliens in search of gold, or explorations of any kind. 
It was not until 1768, when Jose de Galvez began 
to be interested in Alta California, that the romantic 
days of the Spanish settlements and the uplift by the 
padres began. 



28 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



CHAPTER VII 

SIR FRANCIS DRAKE 

PROJECT — IN SEARCH OF GOLD AND THE 
"STRAITS OF ANIAN" OR THE NORTHWEST 
PASSAGE, 1577-1596. 

Topics — The Beginning of Great Britain's Interest in 
the Pacific Ocean and the Lands Bordering Thereon. 
Drake's Bay, and the Description of the Animals. The 
First Protestant Religious Service in California. The 
First English ship to Sail Around the World. The 
Golden Hind. New Albion. 

"THE SPACIOUS TIMES OF QUEEN ELIZABETH" 

Francis Drake was born in Devonshire, England, 
in 1539. He was a cousin of John Hawkins, the sea 
captain. He had heard stories of Columbus, Magel- 
lan, Balboa, Cabrillo, Cortes and others, and was 
ambitious to become a sea captain and a discoverer. 

England and Spain were at war. In a few years 
Drake was the commander of a fine ship. He sailed 
to Darien and, believing it was right to plunder towns 
and vessels which belonged to the Spaniards, he be- 
came rich. 

Having crossed the Isthmus of Darien and having 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



29 




Sir Francis Drake 



seen the great Pacific Ocean, he was determined to 
sail the unknown sea and find the Straits of Anian or 
a northern passage to the Atlantic. He returned to 
England, and with the aid of Queen Elizabeth fitted 



30 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

out five vessels, and in 1577 sailed for the Pacific 
by way of the Straits of Magellan. 

Drake's favorite ship was the Golden Hind, the 
first English vessel to pass through the Straits of 
Magellan, The Golden Hind sailed up the coast of 
California alone. The other ships had deserted. The 
chaplain on the vessel kept a record of the voyage, 
and he tells in his reports that they reached a point 
where there was so much snow and ice and the weath- 
er was so cold that they returned south and anchored 
at what is known as Drake's Bay near Point Reyes. 




Drake's Bay 

Here is an inlet of that bay in which the English explorer 

spent several weeks. What was then a waste is now a 

rich dairying region 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 31 

It is supposed that he did not see the entrance to the 
Golden Gate. 

Drake's ship remained over a month at Point 
Reyes. Chaplain Fletcher held at this point the first 
Protestant religious service in California, and in Gol- 
den Gate Park, San Francisco, now stands the Prayer 
Book Cross, erected by George W. Childs of Phila- 
delphia as a memorial of this event. 

Drake made a journey inland and saw fat deer 
and thousands of queer little animals. They had tails 
like rats and jaws like moles. The men ate them and 
coats were made of the skins. 

All of California was named by Drake New Albion 
because of its white cliffs and because Albion was a 
name often applied to England. 

The Golden Hind next sailed west, past Asia and 
Africa, and reached England two years and ten 
months after leaving. To honor Drake as the first 
Englishman to sail around the world, Queen Eliza- 
beth visited him on the Golden Hind and gave him 

a title, the Queen say- 
ing, ''Arise, Sir Fran- 
cis Drake." He contin- 
ued to fight the Spanish 
and was one of the 
bravest commanders in 
the destruction of the 
Spanish fleet, the Ar- 

Nombre de Dios, Isthmus of Pan- ,..^/\^ t„ i cq/c u„ ^^ 
ama, near where Drake died. maaa. in lOVO ne re- 




32 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

turned to the Isthmus of Panama, where he was 
taken sick and soon after died. 

Sir Francis Drake was buried in the waters he 
loved so well near Nombre de Dios. The Golden Hind 
was ordered preserved, and was kept over one hun- 
dred years, but it has long since decayed. A chair 
made of its timbers was given by Charles II to Ox- 
ford University, where it may be seen as a memorial 
of the first English ship to visit our California shores. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 33 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE SPANISH SETTLEMENTS 

PROJECT — THE SETTLEMENT OF CALIFORNIA 
BY THE SPANIARDS, 1769 TO 1815. 

Topics — Portola and Serra's Trip from Velicata, Lower 
California, to San Diego. The Founding of the First 
Mission in California on July 16, 1769, at San Diego. 
Portola's Journey in Search of the Bay of Monterey. 
The Establishment of El Camino Real. The Nam- 
ing of the Los Angeles River and the Founding of the 
Pueblo of Los Angeles. The Discovery of the Bay of 
San Francisco. The Establishment of Carmel Mission, 
Fermin Francisco Lasuen, and the Establishment of 
Missions. 

Father Kino and Father Salvatierra, members of 
the Jesuits, estabhshed missions about the year of 
1700 in Lower CaHfornia and in Arizona. For nearly 
seventy years there were no attempts to settle the 
land that Cabrillo, Vizcamo and Drake discovered. 
In 1769 Jose de Galvez, the Governor of Sonora, 
heard of the Russian fur traders and others who were 
approaching Alta California from the north, and in 
order that he might hold this territory for Spain, 



34 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 





PO^TOLA • /769 
ANZA TRAiL-/774-S' 
OJ2£.m/GeA/Vr TflA/L 

Fremont's /tr £xp£0. 

F/lEMOm'S J5? EXPBD. 
■•JEOBDIAH SMITH'S l^ EXPEO. /QZS^ 
-*JEDEl>lAy SK'THS Z^E%PED- /8Z7 



Overland trails, showing the routes taken by explorers 
from 1769 to 1846. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 35 

decided to send an expedition by land and sea to set- 
tle California and to hold the land for his King, and 
to prevent Russia, France and other nations from 
getting a foothold. Galvez, in person, arranged all 
the plans for the trip north. The leaders who were 
selected to go were Caspar de Portola, Covernor of 
Lower California; Rivera, Commander of the sol- 
diers; Fages, who afterward became Governor of 
California; Costanso, an engineer; Dr. Prat, a phy- 
sician, and Father Serra, who was to be in charge of 
the missions, and his two able assistants, Father Crespi 
and Father Palou. Crespi and Palou had come with 
Serra from Spain thirty years before and were inti- 
mately associated with him in his great work as mis- 
sionary. When the time arrived to make the start 
Galvez had arranged for four separate parties. First 
was the ship San Carlos, loaded with men and pro- 
visions; then the San Antonio and the supply ship 
San Jose. 

They had a hard voyage on account of the 
storms, and were greatly delayed in reaching the 
port of San Diego. There w^as much sickness on 
board and many of the men died during the voyage. 
The supply ship, San Jose, is supposed to have been 
lost in a storm, as it was never heard of again. The 
land party also had a difficult trip. The distance 
from the mission Velicata in Lower California from 
where they started to San Diego by trail has been 
variously estimated at from three hundred to four 



?>6 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

hundred miles. Captain Rivera began the journey 
on March 24, 1769. He had twenty-five soldiers, 
three mule drivers, and about forty Indians. Food 
and water were scarce. There were no trails, and 
mountain lions frightened them. It took Captain 
Rivera fifty-two days to reach San Diego. They had 
a hard and difficult trip and hailed with delight the 
appearance of one of the ships in the Bay of San 
Diego, but they were disappointed and saddened 
when they learned that so many on board were sick 
and others had died. 

Portola, Fages, Ortega, Father Serra and party 
with much stock started from Velicata, Lower Cali- 
fornia, to follow the trail made by Rivera to San 
Diego. Serra on this, as in all of his other trips, 
proved himself to be a man of splendid endurance, 
a keen lover of nature and interested in the trees, 
flowers and Indians, and the wild and romantic 
scenes of the new country. He had a lame foot and 
suffered great pain, but he was neither discouraged 
nor did he complain. They arrived at San Diego 
July 1st, having been on the road forty-eight days. 
All of the party survived the trip, except several of 
the Indians who deserted or died. They were joined 
at San Diego Bay by Rivera and his party and by 
those of the San Carlos and San Antonio who sur- 
vived the voyage by sea. On July 16, 1769, Father 
Junipero Serra established the mission of San Diego 
wath appropriate ceremonies. It was the first mis- 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



37 



sion established in California, and marked the be- 
ginning of history in California in the period of 
Spanish development. In view of the fact that Gal- 
vez had ordered Portola to find the port of Mon- 
terey, he at once began to organize a party to pro- 
ceed north overland, 
until they came to 
the port of Monte- 
rey, where, according 
to instruction, they 
were to establish a 
settlement. 

Among the people 
that Portola took with 
him were Pedro Am- 
ador, after whom 
Amador County is 
named ; Ortega, path- 




The Cross erected on the hill above 

San Diego Bay back of Old Town 

where Junipero Serra first held 

religious services in 

California 



finder and discoverer of the Golden Gate and the Bay 
of San Francisco ; Alvarado, grandfather of Governor 
Alvarado of California; Carrillo, afterwards Com- 
mander at Monterey, Santa Clara and San Diego, and 
founder of a celebrated Spanish family in California ; 
and Pages, afterward an interesting figure in history 
as Governor of California. It was an interesting group 
of men starting to tramp a distance of more than 500 
miles, without roads, trails or paths. Father Crespi, 
who was with the party, kept a diary and he wrote 
down everything that happened. 



38 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

At the head rode Fages, the commander; Cos- 
tanso, the engineer; two priests, and six others. 
Then came Indians, with spades and axes. These 
were followed by pack trains in four sections; last 
was the rear guard, with Captain Rivera and Gov- 
ernor Portola. Each soldier had defensive weapons; 
for instance, his arms were wrapped with leather so 
that the Indians' spears and arrows could not hurt 
him, and then a leathern apron that fell on each side 
of the horse over his legs, to protect them when rid- 
ing through brush. Each soldier carried a lance, a 
sword and a short musket. The men were fine horse- 
men and good soldiers. Traveling slowly, not over 
five or six miles per day, the greatest difficulty was 
with the horses. It is said that a coyote or fox or 
even wild birds would frighten the horses so they 
would run away. The trip was along what is now 
known as El Camino Real, the King's Highway. 

"Half the length of California 
In the sunshine and the shade, 
Past th-e old Franciscan missions, 

Runs the road the padres made." — Ben Field; 

(From A Dream of Old Camino Real.) 

It took them four days to reach San Luis Rey, where 
the mission now is. They rested four days at San 
Juan Capistrano. On the 28th day of July they reach- 
ed the Santa Ana River and experienced a terrible 
earthquake shock. They crossed the Los Angeles 
River, where the city of Los Angeles now stands, 
and gave it its name. The city itself was not founded 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



39 




Twin Palms of San Fernando 

These adobe walls are part of the enclosure which, built to a 

height of some ten feet, ran for several miles about the 

mission grounds. The palms were planted by the 

padres, and in the dim hills beyond gold 

was first discovered in California. 



40 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

until 1781, when the full name, Nuestra Senora La 
Reina de Los Angeles (''Our Lady the Queen of the 
Angels"), was given to it. They gave the San Fer- 
nando Valley the pretty name of ''Valley of St. Cath- 
erine of the Oaks." Portola crossed another river 
near where Camulos now is and named it Santa Clara 
in honor of the saint whose day they celebrated on 
August 12th. 

Then they marched, on and on, across many 
rivers, and over mountains. The Indians in the 
rancherias welcomed them and gave them food, 
and showed them how they made boats and imple- 
ments of various kinds. They passed through where 
Santa Barbara now is and on to San Luis Obispo. 
Here were many Indians. Their big chief had a 
tumor on his neck and the men called him and the 
place El Buchon. Father Crespi did not like the 
name, but Point Buchon and Mount Buchon, "Bald 
Knob" show how names will remain. The men were 
taken sick and their way to the Salinas Valley was 
rough and hard. Many of the men were afflicted 
with scurvy, a disease brought on by not eating 
enough vegetables. 

On the last day of September the men halted 
near the mouth of the Salinas River, within sound 
of the ocean, but could not see it. Portola now 
sent out scouts to look for the Bay of Monterey; 
but after a long search, and seeing the sand dunes 
and the pines, failed to recognize the bay. A coun- 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 41 

cil was called; Portola told of the shortness of pro- 
visions and the danger of winter coming on, with 
danger that all might perish. Costanso said they 
must travel farther north. Rivera thought they 
should go and find a camp. If Monterey were not 
found, they would discover some other place where 
they could settle. So Portola determined to put his 
trust in God and move forward. Sixteen of the men 
were so sick they had to be lifted on and off the 
horses. The march was slow and painful. Coming 
to a river, the Indians killed an eagle with wings 
that reached seven feet four inches from tip to tip. 
Father Crespi called the river Santa Ana, but the 
people called it Pajaro, ''the Bird". This happened 
near the present city of Watsonville. On the 17th 
of October they passed through the section where is 
now located the beautiful town of Santa Cruz, and 
at Waddell Creek both Portola and Rivera were 
taken sick. 

At San Gregorio it began to rain and aU sick- 
ened, but strange to say the new ailments relieved 
the scurvy and they were able to press forward. They 
marched along Half Moon Bay and up along the 
coast, reaching the foot of Montara Mountains on 
October 30th. The site of their camp is about a 
mile north of Montara light house. They named 
the camp El Rincon de La Almejas on account of the 
mussels and other shell fish found there. Ortega 
and his men were sent out to find a way over the 



42 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

mountains, and in a few days Ortega returned and 
told of seeing a great arm of the sea that thrust it- 
self into the land as far as the eye could reach. He 
was the first white man to see the Golden Gate and 
the Bay of San Francisco, which has become so 
famous in song and story and in the commercial life 
of the West. 

Portola and his men now crossed into the San Pe- 
dro Valley, marched over to the bay side and camped 
again near the site of Stanford University. After 
many hardships Portola and his companions were 
welcomed back to San Diego. On the way they were 
forced to kill mules and eat the flesh to keep from 
starving. They reached San Diego on January 18th, 
and reported that they searched for Monterey Bay 
in vain. After resting until April 17, 1770, Portola 
set out again for the Bay of Monterey, this time on 
the ship San Carlos. And on this, the second, trip 
they found it. On May 24th they camped on the 
shores of Monterey Bay. Portola, Fages and Father 
Crespi noted the calm and placid water, the seals, 
and spouting whales, and all said: 'This is the port 
of Monterey. It is as reported by Vizcaino." 

On the 3rd of June, 1770, under the shelter of the 
branches of an oak tree, Portola established a pre- 
sidio, and as the first Governor of California, in the 
name of the King of Spain took possession of the 
country. Thus was established the first presidio in 
California. On July 9th, 1770, Portola sailed for 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



43 




44 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

Mexico, and afterwards became Governor of Puebla, 
Mexico. 

Portola and his men opened the way for the found- 
ing of the missions. Junipero Serra and his follow- 
ers built missions in the most beautiful places from 




San Gabriel Arcangel. 
Founded on September 8, 1771, by Padres Somera and Cambon 
About six miles from the present site. This Mission has both 
current and historical interest, for in this locality Portola, Serra, 
Anza, Lasuen, Fages and later Pico, Kearny and Fremont were 
active, and at present it is the home of "The Mission Play." 

San Diego to Sonoma, and after a lapse of more 
than one hundred and fifty years, many of them 
still stand as landmarks of the devotion of the Span- 
ish pioneers. 

The founders in the selection of sites chose the 
most attractive places and adopted a style of archi- 
tecture which is the basis of some of our handsomest 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 45 

modern buildings. Among our finest examples are 
the buildings of Stanford University, and many of 
the modern high school buildings. The buildings have 
the color and atmosphere of California, and seem to 
have grown up out of the brown soil. The soft dove- 
color of the adobe walls, the red-brown tiles of the 
roof, the olive leaves on the trees, the violet haze of 
the distant mountains, the tawny hue of the hills, all 
harmonize with each other. 

Serra established the first mission in what is now 
known as Old San Diego, near where the twm palms 
now stand, and mass was celebrated. This mission 
was removed in 1774 to a site on the San Diego 
River about three miles from the bay. Here palm 
trees were planted, an olive orchard started, and 
ground cultivated, and many of the Indians were 
converted to Christianity. Part of the walls of this 
mission are still standing. The padres at this mis- 
sion also built the first irrigation dam and ditch. 

On November 4, 1775, the Indians revolted against 
the Spanish and 800 of them attacked the mission. 
Father Louis Jayme and several others were killed, 
and the mission burned. The soldiers and settlers, 
however, fought bravely, and in the morning the In- 
dians picked up their dead and wounded and marched 
away and never renewed the attack. 

On April 16, 1770, Junipero Serra sailed for the 
port of Monterey. He landed on the morning of 
June 3, 1770, and under an oak tree an altar was 



46 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 




The Mission Santa Barbara 
Founded December 4, 1786, by Fermin Lasuen. It is a good 
type of Mission architecture and is visited by thou- 
sands of tourists each year. 

built, the mission bells hung and service was held. 
Serra in alb and stole asked the blessing of heaven 
on their work, and on June 3, 1770, a great cross 
was erected and the historic Mission San Carlos 
Borromeo, or Carmel Mission, w^as started. In 
1771 the mission was changed from the beach to 
its present location. The beautiful wild roses, the 
roses of Castile, grew all about it. The Monterey 
cypress, the forest of pines, the Carmel River, the 
quiet crescent-shaped bay, marked it as one of the 
most attractive places in California. 

The missions were founded by the order known 
as the Franciscans, and when these settlements were 
made and the news of the conquest reached Old and 
New Spain, the bells of the cathedral rang in tune 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 47 

with those of Monterey, San Diego and San Gabriel. 

Father Serra devoted his hfe to the estabhsh- 
ment and care of the missions. He died at the age 
of seventy, August 28, 1784. The tourist of today 
finds a melancholy interest in the crumbling adobe 
walls of the missions. Father Palou wrote of the 
life and work of Junipero Serra in such a careful 
and excellent a manner that it has been used as a 
source of history for many writers. A monument 
has been erected to Serra's memory. It is located 
on a hill overlooking the Bay of Monterey. 

Fermin Francisco Lasuen was a noted missionary. 
Fie was placed in charge of San Gabriel in 1773 and 
under his care it became very prosperous and suc- 
cessful. Father Lasuen also, in company with Or- 
tega, who discovered the Bay of San Francisco, 
founded the Mission of San Juan Capistrano, one of 




The Mission San Juan Bautista 
Founded on June 24, 1797, by Fermin Francisco Lasuen 



48 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 




CALIFORNIA HISTORY 49 

the most noted missions, on account of the attract- 
iveness of its location and its romantic history. In 
1785 Father Lasuen became Father President of all 
the missions, and during his eighteen years of ser- 
vice the missions were prosperous. It was under his 
direction that Santa Barbara, Soledad, Santa Cruz, 
San Juan, San Miguel, San Fernando and San Luis 
Rey were established. He was present at the inau- 
guration of each one of these missions. This would 
not mean much in this generation of automobiles and 
airplanes, but in the days of Father Lasuen it meant 
the travel over trails of hundreds of miles on horse- 
back or afoot. Father Lasuen also officially sent to 
Spain for artisans and introduced practical manual 
training in the schools and missions, and imported 
olive and orange trees and vines from Spain and was 
the founder of our great modern fruit industries. 
For a man nearly eighty years of age he was pro- 
gressive, and his achievements were of an high order. 
He died at the age of eighty-three in 1803 and was 
buried at Mission San Carlos. As a mission founder, 
as an administrator, he deserves great honor for his 
achievements. Like the majority of missionaries he 
died very poor. 



50 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 




Juan Bautista Anza, who brought the first settlers to California 

overland from Mexico in 1775 and who selected the site 

of the present city of San Francisco 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 51 



CHAPTER IX 

JUAN BAUTISTA ANZA 

PROJECT— THE FOUNDING OF SAN FRANCISCO, 
1774 TO 1775. 

Topics — The First Ship to Enter the Golden Gate. The 
First Trip Overland from Mexico. The First Women 
and Children to Settle in California. Anza's Equip- 
ment. The Arrival at San Gabriel. The Location of 
the Presidio of Yerba Buena, now San Francisco, Sep- 
tember, 1776. 

After the good ship San Carlos had brought Por- 
tola and Serra to Monterey Bay from San Diego, its 
commander, Ayala, was ordered to sail and search 
for the port of San Francisco. On August 5, 1775, 
the San Carlos sailed through the narrow channel 
into the Bay of San Francisco, now known as one 
of the finest ports in all the world. They remained 
in the bay for forty days and made a careful note 
of the various points visited, and then returned to 
Monterey. 

In Sonora, Mexico, Juan Bautista Anza, a man 
of fine intelligence and great courage, was planning 
a route to California by land. After long delays 



52 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

Anza started on January 8, 1774, on his first trip 
from Tubac, not far from where Tucson is now 
located. 

Anza was the first man to take the trip overland 
from Mexico, crossing the desert. Other explorers 
travelled by water up the coast. He was the first 
man to have women and children in his party and 
so skillful was he in handling the difficulties he had 
to encounter that the records of his expeditions are 
some of the most remarkable in history. The rec- 
ords of deaths by exposure, starvation and sickness 
of various kinds were so low that Anza's trips stand 
out as remarkable achievements. 

In the first trip there were thirty-four men, thirty- 
five pack loads of provisions and sixty-five head of 
cattle and one hundred and forty horses. Crossing 
the Colorado River at Yuma, they found friendly 
Indians. Anza, however, found the sand dunes im- 
passable, and after making attempts until his men 
and animals were exhausted he turned to the south- 
west, leaving some of his men and his baggage with 
Palma, a friendly Indian chief. After six days' hard 
travelling across the desert he came to San Carlos 
Pass near Borega Springs in the Sierra Nevada 
range. Crossing, he soon came in view of the San 
Jacinto Valley, and the wonderful plains that since 
have become the homes of a prosperous and happy 
people. After a trip of several hundred miles he 
reached the Mission San Gabriel. There he rested 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 53 

and later returned to Tubac, delighted that he had 
found a route overland from Mexico to California. 
On his return Anza immediately began arrange- 
ments with Bucareli, the viceroy of Mexico, to take 
a party of colonists to settle in the vicinity of the 
Bay of San Francisco. Under the direction of the 
viceroy Anza gathered at Tubac a company of two 
hundred and fifty persons and started on October 
23, 1775. 

In his book, ''A History of California, The Span- 
ish Period,'' Charles E. Chapman tells of the trip: 
''Anza recruited most of his colonists from fam- 
ilies 'submerged in poverty' in Sinaloa. Gathering 
his company at Horcasitas, he proceeded to Tubac, 
where on October 23, 1775, the whole force got un- 
der way. The roster of the expedition as it left 
Tubac is worth quoting: 

"Lieutenant-Colonel Anza 1 

Fathers Font, Garces and Eixarch 3 

The purveyor, Mariano Vidal 1 

Lieutenant Jose Joaquin Moraga 1 

Sergeant Juan Pablo Grijalva 1 

Veteran soldiers from the presidios of So- 

nora 8 

Recruits 20 

Veterans from Tubac, Anza's escort 10 

Wives of the soldiers 29 

Persons of both sexes belonging to families 
of the said thirty soldiers and four other 



54 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

families of colonists 136 

Muleteers 20 

Herders of beef-cattle 3 

Servants of the fathers 4 

Indian interpreters 3 

Total 240 

"Of the thirty soldiers who intended to remain in 
Alta California, Lieutenant Moraga was the only one 
unaccompanied by his wife. Anza's care of this 
mixed assemblage made his expedition one of the 
most remarkable in the annals of exploration. Start- 
ing with a party of 240, he faced the hardships and 
dangers of the march with such wisdom and cour- 
age that he arrived in Alta California with 244 ! No 
fewer than eight children were born in the course 
of the expedition, three of them prior to the arrival 
at Tubac. The day of the departure from Tubac 
one mother died in childbirth — the only loss of the 
whole journey, for even the babes in arms survived 
both the desert and the mountain snows. When one 
thinks of the scores that lost their lives in the days 
of '49 over these same trails, Anza's skill as a front- 
iersman stands revealed. Furthermore, over a thou- 
sand animals were included in the expedition. The 
loss among these was considerable, but enough of 
them lived to supply Alta California's long-press- 
ing want. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 55 

"A very heavy equipment was taken along, all of 
it, even the ribbons in the women's hair, being pro- 
vided at government expense. Anza had warned 
the viceroy that it would be necessary not only to 
do this but also to pay the men in clothing and out- 
fit instead of cash, since they were habitual gamb- 
lers. Of such seemingly unpromising materials were 
the men, who, certainly without their knowledge, 
were about to play a part in one of the most impor- 
tant acts on the stage of American history. 

''The prices of their outfit are enough to make one 
sigh for 'the good old days'. Petticoats, relatively, 
were expensive; they cost about $1.50 each. Wom- 
en's shoes were $.75, and so, too, women's hats! 
Each woman got six yards of ribbon, at twelve cents 
a yard. Boys' hats were only fifty cents apiece, but 
girls' hats were the cheapest of all; the girls were 
supposed to require nothing more than the hair of 
their heads. And so it went; for men, women and 
children clothing of every sort and kind, arms, rid- 
ing horses and rations were provided, and all at what 
now seems to have been an astonishingly low cost. 
One undemocratic note is to be observed. The fare 
of thirty families was of the plainest, and its esti- 
mated cost for the entire expedition amounted only 
to $1957. On the other hand, Anza and Father Font 
were to have such edibles as beans, sausage, biscuit, 
fine chocolate, a barrel of wine, cheese, pepper, saf- 
fron, cloves, cinnamon, oil and vinegar at a cost of 



56 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

$2232.50 — more than the expense for the thirty fam- 
ihes. Anza protested against this allotment when 
it was proposed, but it may be imagined that his ob- 
jections were somewhat perfunctory, for the arrange- 
ment was entirely in accord with the ideas of the day." 

The party under Anza's leadership had travelled 
thirty-seven days when they reached the junction of 
the Colorado River. Here there was difficulty in 
crossing, for the place where Anza had crossed in 
1774 had deepened so that it was impossible to get 
over. The Indians knew of no other ford, but Anza 
made a search himself and found a place where the 
river divided into three shallow branches. The thick- 
ets were cleared away and the crossing was made 
in one day. 

The Yuma Indians amongst whom the travellers 
stayed for a few days were very friendly. Garces 
and Eixarch remained with the Yumas with three 
interpreters and four servants for purposes of ex- 
ploration. The march was resumed by Anza in a 
few days and the Colorado desert was reached. Here 
Anza, profiting by the knowledge gained from cross- 
ing the desert on his previous trip, divided his party 
into three divisions and gave them orders to march 
on different days. This was in order to be sure of 
water, as the waterholes would have time to refill 
if not drawn upon for a few days. 

The third division was under the command of Mo- 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 57 

raga and suffered great hardships. Moraga suffered 
severely from pains in his head and he later became 
totally deaf. The mountains which the party had 
to cross were covered with snow; the weather was 
extremely cold and it rained and snowed much of 
the time. How cheering it was to reach the summit 
of the mountains and begin the descent to the beau- 
tiful valley which lay at the foot. The march was 
continued to San Gabriel, which was reached Jan- 
uary 4, 1776. 

The arrival in San Gabriel was timely, for there 
had been a number of Indian uprisings against the 
Spaniards, killing them or driving them out of the 
country. The revolt at San Diego, in which Father 
Jayme and others were killed, had just occurred. 
There were thousands of Indians and only a few 
Spaniards, and it would have been possible at this 
time to have ended the Spanish settlements. Anza 
saved California for the Spaniards and eventually 
for the United States. Anza was on the way to the 
Bay of San Francisco, but upon hearing of the trou- 
ble he gave up his plans and marched to San Diego 
with his men, where his arrival was regarded as 
providential. 

As soon as it was considered that no further dan- 
ger was to be feared, Anza and his party began their 
journey to San Francisco Bay. They reached the 
Bay of Monterey March 10, 1776, and on March 23 
arrived on the present site of San Francisco. Anza 



58 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

at once made a survey for water and wood and sites 
for a fort and mission. He selected a site near where 
Fort Scott now is, and for a mission, the present 
site of the Mission Dolores. On September 17, 1776, 
the presidio was located with proper ceremonies. It 
was on October 9, 1776, that Mission San Francisco 
de Asisis (Dolores) was formally dedicated. 

While these events were taking place on the Pa- 
cific Coast, on the Atlantic Coast the Declaration of 
Independence had but a few months before been 
signed, and the great events of the Revolutionary 
War were changing the destiny of the world, just 
as Anza and his few soldiers and colonists were 
changing the destiny of California. 

With Anza were men and women who contributed 
much to later California history, and cities, towns, 
streets, rivers and mountains have been named in 
their honor, perpetuating their memory. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 59 



CHAPTER X 

THE INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA 

PROJECT — A STUDY OF THE NATIVE INDIAN 
TRIBES, FROM 1769 TO 1922. 

Topics — A Description of the Indians as the Spaniards 
Found Them. Indian Customs. The Food, Clothing 
and Shelter of the Indians. The Mission Indians. The 
Various Industries Taught the Indians. Changes in 
Style of Living. The Indians Under the Mexican Gov- 
ernors. The Indians of California Under the Govern- 
ment of the United States. 

When, after 1769, the Spanish explorers came to 
CaHfornia and an attempt at settlement was made, 
they found many Indian inhabitants Their number 
is estimated at from 133,000 by some historians to 
700,000 by others. They were barbarians, living on 
the wild fruits and berries they could gather and 
wearing next to no clothing and living in the mean- 
est kind of homes. Each tribe spoke a different 
language and at least twenty-one different languages 
v/ere heard, not counting the dialects. 

The Indians who lived near the sea coast, and in 
the great interior valleys, seemed to be of an infe- 
rior order. Many of the smaller tribes who made 



60 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

their homes in the lower mountain valleys, particu- 
larly those in the vicinity of Mt. Shasta, were not 
only different in appearance but displayed more in- 
telligence. The men were of greater stature, and 
were brave and warlike. They took better care of 
the women of their tribe. 

But the coast and valley Indians were different. 
They lived in small villages and had many cus- 
toms and habits which we today think are very 
curious, but California had so much in the way of 
nature's bounty that there was no inducement to 
struggle for a living. Though they were barbarians, 
the majority were not savage and they did not op- 
pose the Spanish settlement, though they might easily 
have done so. When the Franciscan missions were 
established, the Indians proved to be gentle and adap- 
table. Although they had made no progress for 
themselves in civilization, they were capable of learn- 
ing readily all the mission fathers taught them. In- 
dians in other parts of North America were far more 
war-like than the California Indians. 

An Indian chief gained his position either by he- 
redity or by having more wealth than any other In- 
dian in the village. Shells or skins were used for 
money, and by payment of a goodly supply of these, 
an offender could be excused from many a crime. 
In the home, the man was the head of the house. 
There were a few tribal religious laws that all must 
obey. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



61 




Old Felicita. This is a photograph of old Felicita, who is 
a direct descendant of the Indians who met Portola 
and Father Serra at San Diego in 1720. She re- 
members the battle of San Pasqual and many- 
other incidents of California's early history. 
"No dawn I see, no rising sun — alas, my people!" 



62 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

The Indians' clothing depended upon the chmate. 
When it was cold the skins of animals were worn. 
In the warm weather the men wore a loin cloth and 
the women wore grass skirts which extended from 
the waist to the knees. Decorations in the way of 
tattooing were lavish. Such grotesque markings as 
they smeared on their faces, necks, breasts and bod- 
ies ! This they thought would scare away the evil 
spirits. Decorations — we might call them jewels — 
were made of bone, shells and wood and worn in the 
ears, on the neck, or around the wrists or waist. 

Building a home was the least of the Indians' 
troubles. The cone-shaped wigwam held in place by 
poles and covered with skins was one type of home. 
A hole in the top let out the smoke and let in the 
fresh air. In some of the coast sections, around 
Santa Barbara for instance, huts of willows, tules 
and mud were built. In the San Joaquin Valley 
often a bush or a tree served for shelter. 

These people were not energetic. They did not 
care for the work of hunting for food. They did 
not have domestic animals or raise crops. They ate 
that which was nearest at hand. The Indians used 
for meat skunks, snakes, lizards, frogs, rats, mice 
and grasshoppers. These last were a true delicacy. 
They could be dried, mashed or roasted. Fish were 
caught along the coast and rivers, and often eaten 
raw. Bear meat and wild game were not eaten, for 
the principal reason that they were too hard to catch. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



63 




A basket made by the Tahoe Indians, 

(From photograph by George Wharton James) 



Then, too, the In- 
dians thought the 
wild animals must 
be possessed with 
evil spirits because 
they were so fero- 
cious, and they 
feared that they, 
too, would be pos- 
sessed if they 
should eat of that 
meat. 

Acorns were ground into flour for bread by the 
use of two rocks. Seeds, grasses, herbs, roots and 
berries were all eaten. The pine nut and acorn were 
the staple food of the Indians who lived in the foot- 
hills of the Sierras. 

This simple man- 
ner of living did not 
make work, the wo- 
men doing what little 
there was to do. They 
hunted for food and 
made what clothing 
was necessary. They 
made waterproof bas- 



^^B^^^^, * ® ^ 


WIHJI 


Bi*p 


-:-^iM ^^m 


B^fc'"^fc ;:^ '■- \Mi'^- 


^^^H^^SM, ^':B:^--sMki:l~'.. 


l^^^^Hi^9^^S:£?^£-:^K^,„.. 




■■i 


■■1 



(From photograph by George Wharton James) 

A basket made by the native Indian. 



kets and stone cooking vessels. When they were near 
water, as around San Francisco Bay, they paddled on 
the water in rafts made of tules. 



64 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

The male Indians' one task was to do the fighting 
in time of war. Wars among themselves were often 
caused by disputes over acorn groves, or through a 
tribe preventing the salmon from going up the stream 
by building a weir, and other similar troubles. Then 
again one tribe plundered another; or religion might 
be a cause of war, as a medicine man often accused 
another of practicing sorcery or magic among the 
people. In case of war a herald was sent in advance 
and the time and place of battle were determined 
upon. 

The hands, head and feet were often cut from a 
dead enemy and saved as trophies. If the enemy 
had been very brave in lifetime, sometimes his con- 
queror would eat a bit of him, hoping to get some 
of the bravery. Seldom did these Indians scalp one 
another. Prisoners of war were killed. Slavery ex- 
isted little, if at all. Perhaps one reason for this was 
that there was no work for slaves to do. 

The Indians had many filthy habits. They were 
far from clean, and their houses were dirty. Often 
they piled dried fish around the walls of their houses 
to keep from season to season, and the resulting 
odor may be imagined. 

Unclean habits caused many diseases. The med- 
icine man, when an Indian was ill, cared for the pa- 
tient. He had many methods. One of them was to 
bark at the patient until he had discovered the cause 
of the sickness. Sometimes he treated the ailing per- 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 65 

son, or he might place him in an underground room, 
build a hot fire and cause him to perspire freely; 
then he brought him out and made him jump into 
cold water. 

When an Indian died his body was cremated. The 
ashes were mixed with grease. The paste this made 
was painted on the face of the mourner. There it 
stayed until it naturally wore off, ending the period 
of mourning. 

The Indians were religious in their way. They 
had their laws and tried to obey them. They be- 
lieved in many gods, demons and spirits, both good 
and bad. Everything in nature meant something to 
them. They were children of Nature and worshiped 
at her shrine. The rustling of the leaves in the wind, 
the shooting of stars in the sky, all had meanings 
to them. 

There were many dances and ceremonials and in 
many of them the men only were allowed to take part. 
One of the Indian ceremonials in worshiping their 
deity was the smoking of the pipe. The smoke curl- 
ing upwards typified the ascent of their prayers to 
their gods. Dancing, praying and singing were en- 
ergetically indulged in. They thought that dancing- 
called the attention of the gods to them, and when 
once they had gained this attention the prayers and 
petitions could be presented to the Great Spirit. 

Many myths and legends have been passed down 
by word of mouth to the Indians of today. They 



66 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

are curious and interesting stories, and are studies 
in themselves. 

THE MISSION INDIANS 

What a change was wrought in this style of liv- 
ing when the kindly Franciscan padres came from 
Mexico to begin settlements and to convert the 
Indians ! 

Twenty-one missions were established by the Fran- 
ciscan fathers. They extended from San Diego to 
Sonoma and were located in fertile and beautiful 
spots. Here churches were built and Indians gath- 
ered around the mission. They were taught to build 
their homes, to earn their food, to grow their crops, 
herd their flocks, and to be clean, and, above all, they 
were Christianized. That was the great aim of the 
fathers. The Indians were baptized and taught the 
ritual of the church. They were taught not only 
how to wear clothes, to make them and to prepare 
good food, but they were taught how to preserve 
food and clothing. Certain rules of conduct were 
followed regarding their relations to their families, 
neighbors and the missions. 

These were happy days for the valley Indians. 
From Mexico and Spain skilled laborers were sent 
to assist the settlers. Seeds, plants and herds were 
brought from the south. It was not long before there 
were not only comfortable homes clustered around the 
missions, but fruitful gardens, orchards and pastures 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 67 

spread out in the surrounding country where the 
Indians could be daily seen cultivating their crops, 
harvesting them, watching their flocks, shearing their 
sheep and branding their cattle. 

The Indians were crudely artistic when the fath- 
ers came. They could carve patterns of beauty on 
stones ; they could shape and decorate pottery in fan- 
tastic and curious designs. Now this art was culti- 
vated and encouraged. From the crude pottery de- 
signs that then existed the Indians learned how to 
improve their work. They learned how to carve 
leather so well that today their leather designs are 
treasured in many collections and museums as me- 
mentoes of great value. Then there was the drawn 
work for the women, the weaving of cloth by hand, 
and we may still sometimes find some exquisite altar 
cloth, hand-woven, embroidered with taste and skill. 
The hemp and flax of which these cloths were made 
were grown at the missions. 

The cattle industry gave rise to the tanning of 
leather, which was used for boots, shoes, harness and 
saddles. The saddle was the treasure of many an 
Indian, for travelling by horseback or by foot was 
the only method. How picturesque were those In- 
dians of the early days with all the clothes and fit- 
tings the padres and the skilled Spanish people had 
taught them to make so well! 

Drinking cups and spoons and ladles were carved 
from the horns of cattle. But one thing the Indians 



68 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

taught the padres was how to preserve meat from 
a time of plenty to keep until a time of need. The 
Mexicans today preserve their meat in the same man- 
ner. The meat is cut into strips and ''jerked" or 
sun-dried. It may be prepared with or without salt. 

The mission settlements not only grew and made 
enough food and supplies for their own communities 
but they raised enough to spare. Cloth, wine, tallow, 
leather goods, could all be made and shipped by sail- 
ing vessels to other parts of the world. 

The women soon learned to be good cooks. Their 
men learned how to carve furniture for their home 
from wood. The lumber which was cut was used 
for buildings, fences, carts, boxes, cabinets, furniture. 
The Indians learned to do everything that was nec- 
essary in the making and keeping of a good home. 

It was some time between 1769 and 1773 that 
grapes, oranges and the fruits for which California 
is famous today were brought from the south and 
from Spain to the missions and carefully cultivated. 
Each mission had its own gardens and orchards and 
its own wine press. 

We are told that at the end of sixty years more 
than 30,000 Indians had been baptized and lived at 
the missions under the guidance of the good padres. 
The padres were kind and helpful to them, and obe- 
dience and peace generally prevailed at the missions. 

So well did these Indians learn their trades that 
today, when a sheepman can get an Indian sheep- 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 69 

herder or shearer, or a rancher can get an Indian 
cowboy, he counts himself fortunate. The Indians 
excelled their teachers in many things, such as braid- 
ing ropes for riatas. 

Can you not picture these peaceful and happy Cal- 
ifornia mission settlements in the calm and fruitful 
valleys of the state; the low adobe mission with 
its red tile roof surrounded by flowering gardens and 
fruitful trees, the adobe and wooden homes of the 
Indians surrounded by the wide fields and orchards 
and the miles of pasture land dotted with fat cattle 
and sheep; the patient and gentle padre teaching and 
guiding his red children and calling them to come 
to the mission and worship the Great Father of all 
mankind ? 

THE INDIANS FROM THE SECULARIZA- 
TION OF THE MISSIONS TO THE 
PRESENT TIME 

The story of the Indians from the time the mis- 
sion fathers were forced to give up their control to 
the present time is a sad story and sheds nothing of 
credit upon the white race. 

The Indians had been as children to the padres. 
They had, in sixty years' time, advanced from the 
crudest savagery to a civilized condition under the 
instruction and guidance of the fathers. But the 
padres prophesied that it would take many more years 
to allow the Indians to live as they had been taught, 



70 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

without a directing hand. They still needed care as 
a child needs careful watchfulness and training be- 
fore he can become a self-supporting man. 

Revolutions, and trouble between Mexico and 
Spain, were the beginning of trouble in the missions 
in California. Mexico gained her freedom from 
Spain about 1822 and Mexican politicians gained 
control in California. They could not have the same 
motive as the fathers in their interest in California 
and the Indians. The fathers desired to convert the 
Indians, the politicians and Mexican governors wish- 
ed to make money on them. 

The missions were the backbone of California. 
Near them was raised all the food and crops. They 
constituted the settlements. 

The governors appointed to California had no 
regard for the good of the missions. They imme- 
diately tried to get hold of the property. There were 
efforts to arouse the Indians to rebellion against the 
good priests. None of these efforts succeeded. How- 
ever, the governors did take control from the fath- 
ers. They left them but a small home in which to 
live at the mission and the rest of the property was 
either rented or sold. The new officials used mis- 
sion property in payment of their personal debts. 
Stores of tallow and hides were given away in this 
way and so was mission land. The priests fought 
against this edict, but they were powerless, though 
they knew that the Indians were not yet far enough 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY ?! 

advanced to make progress for themselves or even 
to earn their own Hving or to keep what property 
they had against the wiles or commands of the new 
residents. They were as children utterly unfit to 
take up the burdens of existence. 

On July 6, 1846, the Stars and Stripes were raised 
in Monterey, signifying that America now had con- 
trol of California. This meant an even sadder time 
for the Indians. 

In 1849 the gold rush to California began. With 
the settlement of California by people from all parts 
of the world there came thousands of pioneers, some 
men of high ideals, some camp followers, the saloon 
and the gamblers. The Indians fell an easy prey to 
the latter. What property some of them had was 
taken from them in exchange for liquor and trinkets. 
The Indians gambled and drank, and lacking food 
oftentimes turned to thieving. When they could get 
work they worked, but this was not often. 

The building of cities and manners of living which 
to the Indian were unnatural were introduced in Cal- 
ifornia. To conform to the new people who came, 
the Indian must make some attempt at living as oth- 
ers did, but his lands and property were gone and 
those people who had originally owned the entire 
state were beggars and treated cruelly and heart- 
lessly by the white usurper. 

This was written of the Indians of San Fran- 
cisco in 1853: 



72 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

"They are a miserable, squalid-looking set, squatting or lying 
about the corners of the streets, without occupation. They have 
no m-eans of obtaining a living, as their lands are all taken from 
them; and the missions for which they labored, and which pro- 
vided after a sort for many thousands of them, are abolished. No 
care seems to be taken of them by the Americans; on the con- 
trary, the effort seems to be to exterminate them as soon as 
possible." 

In Los Angeles at about the same time, the early 
fifties, the Indians were treated almost as slaves. 
They were excellent laborers and there was plenty of 
work for them to do. The Indians were often paid 
by the vineyard owners with wine every Saturday 
night. They gathered together and became drunk 
over the week end. For this and the wild behavior 
that it caused they were arrested and thrown into 
jail. At the beginning of the new week the Indians 
were shown for sale to vineyardists who paid from 
one to three dollars, for which debt the Indian had 
to labor for the next week for the man who had paid 
his fine, and at the close again receive his payment 
in wine. 

These are just a few of the abuses that the Indian 
has suffered at the hands of the white men. The 
race is rapidly dying out. The Indians in California 
in 1921, according to government report, numbered 
but 12,725. 

The church and the government have both tried 
to educate the Indians, but the training has been 
hard for them and they are not adapted to civilized 
ways and customs. The result has been many epi- 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



7Z 




A modern Indian woman of Northern California carrying wood. 



74 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 




CALIFORNIA HISTORY 75 

demies of disease, and tuberculosis has made sad 
ravages among the people. 

An Indian commissioner and his assistants, under 
the Department of the Interior, are in direct charge 
of Indian affairs. 

A campaign to release Indians from government 
control if they were fitted to care for themselves be- 
gan in April, 1917. This provided that all able-bodied 
adult Indians should be given full and complete con- 
trol of some property. This resulted in 20,000 titles 
to land being given to Indians in the United States. 
The Indians had to be graduates of the government 
schools and be competent and over twenty-one years 
of age. This work now, however, is at a standstill, 
as it was dropped in January, 1921, and no more 
titles have been issued. 

The Indians in California meanwhile are attend- 
ing the government schools and trying to learn how 
to care for themselves. At the rate they have been 
dying out, they will soon cease to be a problem to 
the government. 

In California there are eleven main Indian agen- 
cies and schools at the present time. They are: 
Bishop Agency and Schools, at Bishop, Inyo County, 
which include schools at Bishop, Big Pine, Independ- 
ence and Pine Creek; Campo Agency and School, 
near San Diego; Digger Reservation, at Jackson; 
Fort Bidwell Agency and School, at Fort Bidwell; 
Greenville School, at Greenville ; Hoopa Valley Agen- 



76 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 




CALIFORNIA HISTORY 77 

cy and School; Pala Agencies and Schools, which 
include Capitan Grande, La Jolla, Rincon, Volcan, 
Mesa Grande, Inaja or Cosmet and Los Coyotes res- 
ervations and day schools; Round Valley Agency 
and Schools, which include Upper Lake, Pinoliville, 
Yokaia schools; Sherman Institute, near Riverside; 
Soboba Agency and Schools, at San Jacinto, which 
include Cahuilla, Santa Rosa, Santa Ynez, Malki and 
Martinez reservations and schools ; Tule River Agen- 
cy and Schools, near Porterville, which include Au- 
berry, Tule River and Burrough day schools. 
^ The government furnishes funds for the educa- 
tion of Indian children under the regular public 
school system. A good example of such a school 
is the Tejon school, Kern County. 



78 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



CHAPTER XI 

THE SPANISH GOVERNORS OF 
CALIFORNIA 

PROJECT— THE GOVERNMENT OF CALIFORNIA 
BY THE SPANIARDS, 1770 TO 1822. 

Topics — The First Governor, Portola. California Un- 
der Neve. The Arrival of Senora Fages. Large Land 
Grants and the Results. 

The government of California after its settlement 
by the Spanish has been divided into three periods, 
under Spanish, Mexican and American governors. 
The Spanish governors began their rule with Caspar 
de Portola when he established the first presidio in 
Monterey on June 3, 1770. Felipe de Barri governed 
from 1771 until 1774, and Felipe de Neve from 
1774 to 1782. 

For forty years after the rule of Neve the Span- 
ish governors did not do anything that left an en- 
during mark on history. They gave minute instruc- 
tions to the alcaldes and soldiers to watch the per- 
sonal habits of the settlers and to see that they were 
not idle and that they went to church regularly. 
They were to prohibit gambling and drinking. There 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 79 

were rules for the use of water for irrigation pur- 
poses and there was an attempt to employ the In- 
dians of the missions. So that none could plead ig- 
norance of the laws, they were read publicly at least 
once a month. 

The five governors who held their authority by 
regular appointment between July, 1782, and the end 
of Spanish control, 1821, were: Don Pedro Pages, 
July 12, 1782 -April 16, 1791; Don Jose Antonio 
de Romeu, 1791-1792; Don Diego de Borica, 
May 14, 1794 -March 8, 1800; Don Jose Joaquin 
de Arrillaga, March 8, 1800 -July 24, 1814; Don 
Pablo Vicente de Sola, August 30, 1815 to 1822, the 
Independence of Mexico. 

In the time between the death of Romeu and the 
appointment of Borica, April, 1792 - May, 1794, Ar- 
rillaga, who was lieutenant-governor of Lower Cali- 
fornia, served as governor of both Lower and Upper 
California. Between the death of Arrillaga and the 
appointment of Sola, Don Jose Arguello served as 
governor of Alta California. The two Californias, 
Upper and Lower, or Alta and Baja California, as 
they were called, were separated by the decree of 
August 29, 1804. 

After Mexico declared her independence from 
Spain, 1821, Sola continued to serve until Novem- 
ber 10, 1822, when Luis Antonio Arguello was ap- 
pointed and held office until April 2, 1823. 

The governors appointed had all distinguished 



80 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 




CALIFORNIA HISTORY 81 

themselves as soldiers for a number of years pre- 
vious to their being made the head of California. 
Fages, Romeu and Borica brought their wives and 
families to live at the capital, Monterey. The coming 
of Senora Fages was regarded of great importance 
and the residents of California anticipated great ad- 
vantages from associating with so great a lady as 
the wife of the governor. She, however, came to 
California much against her will, and found her home 
so crude and with so little of the luxury to which she 
had been accustomed that she made herself very dis- 
agreeable. In fact, she was so bad-tempered with 
everyone, her husband included, that the priests had 
to interfere, until her better temper prevailed. She 
was so shocked upon seeing the almost naked Indians 
that she gave them many of her clothes. 

There were four presidios in California. They 
were in San Diego, Santa Barbara, Monterey and 
San Francisco. They were walled-in villages and 
the soldiers lived in adobe huts ranged along the in- 
ner walls of the stronghold. The settlers lived in 
unwalled pueblos or around the missions, guarded 
by a few soldiers and surrounded by hundreds of 
Indians. 

"The Spanish governors were expected to defend 
some 600 miles of sea coast, extending from San 
Francisco to San Diego, from foreign attack and to 
permit no settlement to be made in the region north- 
ward as far as Spain claimed sovereignty, which was 



82 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

to and beyond Vancouver Island, without protest, 
and giving prompt notice to the authorities of New 
Spain. They were also to defend the missions and 
pueblos against attack by the Indians, or at least to 
put down any uprising that might occur, and punish 
those who took part in it. They were to permit no 
trade with any ship except the transports from San 
Bias, and allow no foreign ship to enter any harbor 
unless in urgent need of repairs or supplies of wood, 
water or provisions." 

Fages showed himself to be capable and active 
and made a good governor during his term of ser- 
vice. His successor, Romeu, was appointed because 
of his aptitude for business affairs, and the presidio's 
business affairs were in sad confusion. Romeu died 
before he could work any reforms. He was buried 
at San Carlos in a now forgotten grave, and his wife 
and daughter returned to Spain. 

In the interim between the death of Romeu and 
the appointment of a successor, Arrillaga, lieutenant- 
governor of Loreto, served temporarily as governor 
of both Californias. He applied himself to settling 
the accounts at the presidios until the matter of self- 
defense was brought to his attention. He studied the 
fortifications at the presidios and planned the build- 
ing and accomplishment of the most pretentious 
stronghold on the coast during the Spanish period. 
The fort was built, facing the Golden Gate, on San 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 83 

Francisco Bay, and was named Castillo de San 
Joaquin. 

Borica's six years of office saw the improvement 
of many defenses. San Jose, San Diego, Monterey 
and Santa Barbara were all improved in various 
ways and furnished with weapons of self-defense in 
case the troubles in Europe spread to the Spanish 
possessions in the new world. 

Further activities in fortifying California were 
checked by the lack of materials with which to work. 
Spain was unable to send supplies. Borica initiated 
his regime with ideas of colonization; there was 
planting of lands and the building of irrigating sys- 
tems. These yielded some increase, but did not 
amount to the results the workers had expected. 
Arrillaga and Sola, though less resourceful, had 
somewhat the same ideas and did their best towards 
bringing wives for the soldiers and further colon- 
izing the state. Large land grants were made to 
families in California during this period, though the 
friars at the missions opposed the grants because they 
feared the influence of the new residents upon their 
Indians and because they believed the land belonged 
to the Indians and should be saved for the time when 
they would be able to cultivate the land themselves. 
Colonization was not entirely a success because things 
were not so managed that they could be run at a 
profit. The system was one of government owner- 
ship and there was no market for things grown ex- 



84 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

cept that furnished by the government. The gov- 
ernment fixed the prices and Hmited the amount the 
individual should buy and should own. 

It was these conditions that caused the Spanish 
to become the lazy, luxury-loving people they were, 
leaving the w^ork for the Indians to do, paying them 
from one-third to one-half for doing the w^ork while 
they "whiled away the hours with the guitar, or in 
dancing, gambling or worse employments." 

The announcement in March, 1822, under the rule 
of Sola, that Mexico was no longer ruled by Spain, 
was received with satisfaction, and even the governor 
did not make much protest. The friars alone seemed 
affected by it and long remained faithful in their 
hearts to their former heads. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 85 

CHAPTER XII 

THE MEXICAN GOVERNORS 
PROJECT— CALIFORNIA RULED BY THE MEXI- 
CANS FROM 1822 TO JULY 7, 1846. 

Topics — The Organization of the Government of Cali- 
fornia Under the Mexican Constitution. The Secular- 
ization of the Missions, in 1833. Governor Figueroa. 
Governor Alvarado. The Stars and Stripes. 

There were twelve governors under the Mexican 
regime from the date of the adoption of the consti- 
tution, 1823, until the American governors began 
their rule with John D. Sloat, the first governor un- 
der military rule, who took office July 7, 1846. 

Pablo Vicente de Sola, serving California under 
Spanish appointment, continued in office for a short 
time after the change in government, and thus be- 
came the first governor under the Mexican admin- 
istration. 

After Sola, the Mexican governors in order of 
their succession were: Luis Arguello, 1823-1825; 
Jose Maria Echeandia, 1825-1831; Manuel Victoria, 
1831-1832; Pio Pico, 1832-1833; Jose Figueroa, 
1833-1835; Jose Castro, 1835-1836; Nicolas Gutier- 
rez, 1836 (January to May) ; Mariano Chico, 1836 
(few months) ; Nicolas Gutierrez, 1836 (few months) ; 
Juan B. Alvarado, 1836-1842; Manuel Micheltorena, 
1842-1845; Pio Pico, 1845-1846. 



86 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

Sola had been violently opposed to the revolution 
of Mexico against Spain, but when the commission 
of the imperial regency arrived in Monterey and re- 
quired his submission and allegiance to the flag of 
Mexico he yielded immediately. In March, 1822, 
Sola issued orders for a council of the chief officers 
of the province to be held at Monterey in the early 
part of April for the purpose of putting the new gov- 
ernment into effect. He summoned the command- 
antes of the presidios and of the Mazatlan and San 
Bias troops and the president and prefect of the 
missions. 

"As soon as they were convened. Sola read the 
dispatches from Mexico; and thereupon all present 
agreed to take the oath of independence and swear 
for themselves and their subordinates to respect and 
obey the orders of, and bear true allegiance to, the 
new supreme government; and they all thereupon 
signed a written declaration to that effect. On April 
11 the oath was publicly administered and was taken 
by them and by all the troops and people of Monte- 
rey; and the solemn act was made the occasion of a 
church festival, continual hurrahs, repeated salutes 
of cannon and muskets, music, an illumination and 
everything else that could be thought of to give eclat 
to the auspicious event. Within a few days after- 
wards, instructions were issued for the same oath 
to be taken at other points throughout the province 
and also by all the Indians.'' 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 87 

The time of Mexican rule in California was mark- 
ed by a number of upheavals of little importance. 
There was growing dissatisfaction with the Mexican 
rule, which did nothing particularly for the good of 
California. Though there were plans for improve- 
ment, there was no means by which to realize them. 

Some of the questions which caused trouble among 
the Californians wxre: the fact of Mexico sending 
convicts for soldiers; a growing jealousy between 
the north and south of California; numerous dis- 
putes over the location of the capital and where the 
custom-house should be. In 1833 the question of the 
secularization of the missions was paramount, and 
for the next ten years there was much of plunder 
and ruin in the history of the missions. 

These had been a bone of contention for a number 
of years. The understanding when they were estab- 
lished was that as soon the Indians had been con- 
verted and were able to be self-supporting that the 
padres should go to fresh fields and establish other 
missions. This was one of the policies of Spain, 
which had issued a decree for the secularization of the 
missions in 1813, though it was not carried into 
effect. The final secularization of the missions was 
completed in Figueroa's time. 

Echeandia in 1828 tried to adopt a plan whereby 
the work would be accomplished, but the plan mis- 
carried and was a failure. In 1833 the Mexican 
Congress ordered that ''the government should pro- 



88 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 




CALIFORNIA HISTORY 89 

ceed to secularize the missions of both the Cahfor- 
nias; that each mission should constitute a parish 
to be served by a curate or a secular priest with an 
annual salary of from two thousand to twenty-five 
hundred dollars ; that the mission churches with their 
ornaments should serve as parish churches and have 
each annually five hundred dollars for the mainte- 
nance of public worship; that of the other mission 
buildings one with a tract of ground not exceeding- 
two hundred varas square in extent should be ap- 
propriated for the residence of the curate and the 
others devoted to the uses of schools and other pub- 
lic purposes." There were other comparatively un- 
important provisions, but the padres were robbed of 
their authority and influence and were expected to 
return to convents or colleges from whence they had 
come; or, at any rate, to leave California. 

The decay of the missions began. Their resources 
were drawn upon for many purposes for the govern- 
ment and they were even obliged to furnish supplies 
to government troops. 

Before any executive action could be taken regard- 
ing Echeandia's plans for the missions, Manuel Vic- 
toria, the new governor, came to Monterey and as- 
sumed oflice. He reversed Echeandia's policy and 
suspended its execution. The people revolted against 
Victoria and he surrendered in battle, finally return- 
ing to Mexico. Pio Pico followed, and his time of 
service was one of dissension and no accomplishment. 



90 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

The Mexican government next appointed Jose Fi- 
gueroa, a Mexican by birth and with Aztec blood 
in his veins. He had taken active part against Spain 
in the revolution and had risen to be general of a 
brigade in the Mexican army. 

The most important event in Figueroa's time and 
the event which has made the greatest impress on 
history was the final secularization of the missions. 
The three steps were: Spain's decree in September, 
1813, for the creation of the missions into ordinary 
parishes, which was not carried out in California; 
Echeandia's plan in 1828 which he did not have the 
opportunity to carry into effect and the decree by 
the Mexican Congress in August, 1833, which or- 
dered among other things that each mission should 
serve as a parish and have a curate and a secular 
priest. 

The missions of California ceased legally to exist 
on August 17, 1833, when the Mexican Congress 
passed the law of secularization. They ceased to 
exist as a matter of fact on August 9, 1834, when 
Figueroa named commissioners to carry out the new 
system. The Indians were freed from the control 
of the priests, they were given land and property 
which they managed; their children were delivered 
to them (they had heretofore been cared for and 
carefully trained by the mission fathers), and the 
missions were transformed into Indian pueblos. Cu- 
rates or secular priests were only spiritual leaders 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 91 

to the Indians, who must manage for themselves. 
The ruin and loss this worked to the Indians and 
how they lost their property through the schemes of 
those wiser than they is a sad story. 

"Figueroa always sympathized with the Indians. 
He claimed to be of Indian blood and accounted in 
that manner for his sympathy, but he always meant 
to be fair. No charge of corruption or unlawful gain 
has been made against Figueroa in the spoilation of 
the missions, but the great mass of commissioners 
and other officials whose duty it became to adminis- 
ter the properties of the missions, and especially their 
great numbers of horses, cattle, sheep and other ani- 
mals, thought of little else and accomplished little 
else than enriching themselves. It cannot be said 
that the spoilation was immediate; but it was cer- 
tainly very rapid. A few years sufficed to strip the 
establishments of everything of value and leave the 
Indians, who were in contemplation of law the bene- 
ficiaries of secularization, a shivering crowd of naked 
and, so to speak, homeless wanderers upon the face 
of the earth. ... As soon as it became certain that 
secularization was to take place, the missionaries 
themselves commenced the work of destruction. Some 
of them sold off what property they were able to dis- 
pose of, and others ordered the slaughter of their 
cattle for the sake of the hides alone. Thus at San 
Luis Obispo a sale was effected and the proceeds, 
which consisted of over twenty thousand dollars' 



92 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

worth of cotton, silk and woolen goods, were distrib- 
uted among the Indians. At San Gabriel the cattle 
were all slaughtered. This latter was by far the 
richest mission in the territory. Its cattle numbered 
over a hundred thousand. They were killed where 
they were found, in the valleys or on the hills; the 
hides were taken off and the carcasses left to rot. 
The spectacle presented was horrible. Some of the 
valleys were entirely covered with putrescent masses; 
and for years the country in the neighborhood was 
white with skeletons. In some places the skulls and 
large bones were so plentiful that long fences were 
built of them. And the slaughter was so complete 
that afterwards, when a new missionary was sent to 
take charge of the spiritual concerns of the estab- 
lishment, he was obliged to depend upon the alms of 
a neighboring ranchero for meat." 

One of the forward policies of Figueroa was the 
establishment of many schools. The few teachers 
were incompetent and ill paid. Figueroa raised sal- 
aries, provided for the education of many more teach- 
ers at a normal school at San Gabriel in 1834, and 
established schools in Monterey, Santa Barbara, Los 
Angeles, Sonoma, Santa Clara, San Jose, San Ga- 
briel, San Luis Rey and San Diego. 

He was suffering from ill health and at last it was 
necessary for him to resign from his work. He 
hoped to go from Monterey to Santa Barbara, where 
he wished to be buried, but he died while on the way 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 93 

at San Juan Bautista. With great honors the body 
was moved to the Mission of Santa Barbara and 
buried. 

Jose Castro had been appointed pohtical leader by 
Figueroa when he was taken sick and Gutierrez was 
made mihtary leader. The Mexican government 
thought that one leader was sufficient for California 
and asked Castro to deliver the reins of government 
entirely over to Gutierrez, which he did. His term 
of office was short lived. Soon after Gutierrez' ap- 
pointment the supreme government, in 1836, se- 
lected Mariano Chico. Chico's rule was short and 
ignominious, for he was not fitted for the position 
and came to an inglorious end through his lack of 
judgment and bad temper. In order to save himself 
from being chased from California he left for Mex- 
ico City on the pretense that he was going to make 
certain reports and requests. He asked Gutierrez 
to take charge. But the passion and bad judgment 
that had marked Chico's short time seemed to still 
prevail and Gutierrez had a difficult few months, 
which concluded with his surrendering to Juan Bau- 
tista Alvarado, a native son of Spanish descent and 
a young man of unusual ability and cleverness. Al- 
varado was declared governor by a congress of Cali- 
fornians which met at Monterey. This little revo- 
lution was bloodless, and as Mexico was very busy 
with her own affairs and did not regard California 
as of very much importance, she ignored the change. 



94 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

The people of Los Angeles wished it to be the cap- 
ital and seized upon Alvarado's assuming the govern- 
ment as a chance to protest. Alvarado marched south 
with troops and threatened the town, and Los An- 
geles proved submissive. After numerous troubles 
and some negotiations, Alvarado was formally ap- 
pointed governor by authorities in Mexico. 

It was during Alvarado's reign that a notable in- 
flux of foreigners began to drift to California. They 
came for adventure or trade or because they liked 
the country. Many of them secured land for homes, 
lumber mills, cattle raising, hunting or trapping. 
There were some English, Americans, French, and 
Danes. Many who came to settle permanently were 
naturalized. One of the most prominent of these for- 
eigners was John Augustus Sutter. He was of Swiss 
parentage but had lived in New York and Missouri 
for a number of years. He came to California with 
twelve men and two women in 1839. Wishing to 
found a colony in the Sacramento Valley, he applied 
to Alvarado at Monterey for citizenship and land. 
Alvarado granted his request and gave him land, and 
jurisdiction in behalf of the government over the sur- 
rounding country where he settled. 

Sutter founded a colony on the present site of Sac- 
ramento and called it New Helvetia. He managed 
his property in a wise and judicious manner. In 
1842, when the Russians were leaving their Califor- 
nia settlement at Fort Ross, the government agreed 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 95 

to assume the debt of Sutter for the property, pay- 
ing the Russians thirty-one thousand dollars. 

In 1841 Peter Lassen applied for naturalization. 
He afterwards settled at the foot of the Sierra in 
the northern part of the Sacramento Valley, and Las- 
sen's Peak and Lassen County were named after him. 

Alvarado appointed William E. P. Hartnell, an 
English merchant of Monterey, 'Visitador-general" 
of the missions, which meant that he was to visit, 
investigate and report on the conditions he found. 
Hartnell found prevailing conditions were bad. The 
Indians had been robbed of most of their property. 
They were treated as slaves in many localities, many 
of them were poorly fed and clothed. Some had fled 
from their mistreatment at the missions. Hartnell 
could do little for them, though some effort was made 
to reorganize the Indians and ease their troubles. 

Alvarado continued with Figueroa's policy of ed- 
ucation by establishing more schools, one of them at 
Monterey, for which he had teachers brought from 
Mexico. Typesetting and printing were taught there, 
the first in California, and this art was later used 
for government reports. After governing for six 
years Alvarado was forced to resign on account of 
ill health in 1843. 

Manuel Micheltorena became governor of Califor- 
nia January 19, 1842. His rule was a turbulent one, 
until in 1845 he returned ignominiously to Mexico 
accompanied by a ship load of convicts whom he had 



96 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

brought with him to help fight the invasions of Amer- 
icans. His tactics were such that Alvarado with re- 
covered heahh had several battles and truces with 
him, and these were instrumental in persuading Mich- 
eltorena that he preferred Mexico to California. 

The last of the Mexican governors was Pio Pico. 
Pie had previously been governor, about the be- 
ginning of 1832, when the flight of Victoria left no 
one in office and Pico took charge until the arrival 
of Figueroa. Now again in 1846 Pio Pico held of- 
fice from the time of the expulsion of Micheltorena 
until the arrival of Sloat and the American conquest. 
Pio Pico's few months of service as governor of Cal- 
ifornia were marked by dissension with his military 
leader, Jose Castro, and the fear of the ''horde of 
foreign bandits", as he called the Americans who 
were coming from the east in large numbers. Those 
who had arrived here first had written east to their 
families and friends and told them of glorious Cali- 
fornia and her resources, and it was having effect, 
to the dismay of the Calif ornians. 

The Bear Flag Republic was declared on June 14, 
1846, when Americans surrounded the home of Gen- 
eral M. G. Vallejo, took him prisoner with some oth- 
ers, and sent them to Fremont's camp. On July 7, 
1846, Commodore John D. Sloat raised the Stars and 
Stripes in Monterey, and Mexican rule in California 
came to an end. These events will be related in a 
more extended manner in ''How California Came 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 97 

Into the Union" and in the chapter on 'The Life 
and Times of John Charles Fremont". 

PICO 

Last of thy gallant race, farewell! 

When darkness on his eyelids fell 

The chain was snapped — the tale was told 

That linked the new world to the old; — 

Th-e new world of our happy day 

To those brave times which fade away 

In memories of flocks and fells 

Of lowing herds and mission bells. 

He linked us to the times which wrote 

Vallejo, Sutter, Stockton, Sloat, 

Upon their banners — times which knew 

The cowled Franciscan, and the gray 

Old hero-priest of Monterey. 

He * * * * * 

The train moves on. No hand may stay 
The onward march of destiny; 
But from her valleys, rich in grain, 
From mountain slope and poppied plain 
A sigh is heard — his deeds they tell, 
And, sighing, hail and call farewell, 

— Daniel S. Richardson. 



98 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



CHAPTER XIII 
THE RUSSIANS IN CALIFORNIA 

PROJECT— THE SETTLEMENT OF THE PACIFIC 
COAST, INCLUDING CALIFORNIA, BY RUS- 
SIANS, 1781 TO 1841. 

Topics — The Russian Fur Traders. The Russian Set- 
tlement at Fort Ross. Count Rezanof and His Ro- 
mance with Concepcion de Arguello. 

The Russians were eager fur traders in the early 
days and their energy and industry were directed 
as early as 1781 to the fur-bearing animals that lived 
along the coasts of Alaska. Trading posts were built 
and trappers went to Alaska to live. 

In 1812 the trappers found that the sea otters in 
California had desirable fur. They built a trading 
post, named by the Russians Stawianski, but called by 
the Americans Eort Ross, on a stream since called the 
Russian River. We are told that the settlers bought 
their land of the Indians and paid them three blan- 
kets, three pairs of breeches, two axes, three hoes 
and some beads. The colony consisted of ninety- 
five Russians and eighty Alaskan Indians, who were 
good hunters. They brought with them forty canoes 
and ten cannon for protection. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 99 

Not only were furs obtained from the Russian 
River, but San Francisco Bay and the FaraUone Is- 
lands proved good hunting grounds. Some supplies 
were grown by the traders, but at first they obtained 
all they needed from the missions. 

The Spanish people looked with great disfavor up- 
on the Russians, whom they regarded as intruders. 
They were very much provoked when the traders 
came in their boats in and around San Francisco Bay, 
but as they had no ships in which to go out and 
chase them away the governor had to content himself 
by writing severe and complaining letters to the com- 
mander at Fort Ross. These letters were ineffectual 
and the Russians obtained thousands of skins a year. 

In Alaska the settlers were not as fortunate in ob- 
taining food and having comfortable quarters as 
were those in California. They could not grow food 
for themselves there and it took supplies a long time 
to come from Russia. 

In 1805, hearing reports of conditions there and 
wishing to ascertain their truth, the Czar sent Count 
Rezanof to Alaska as his personal representative. 
Upon his arrival he found the settlers starving and 
ill and in need of immediate supplies. Rezanof sailed 
for San Francisco as the nearest port from which 
to get necessary food, taking with him a cargo for 
trade. 

Commander Arguello had been expecting impor- 
tant officials from Russia and his instructions were 



100 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

that if they came he must entertain them. When 
Comit Rezanof arrived, Arguello was in Monterey 
and his son Luis was in charge, and thought that 
Rezanof was the important Russian whom he had 
had instructions to entertain. He was most lavish 
in his hospitahty and sent for his father to come 
from Monterey. Commander Arguello was as cour- 
teous as his son, but discovered the truth, that Rez- 
anof was not the expected guest. He refused Rez- 
anof supplies, as he had received instructions not to 
trade with any foreign country at that time. 

This opposition Rezanof craftily overcame with 
gifts to those upon whom he could bestow them, as 
he had many acceptable articles on board his ship, 
the Juno. But he was failing in his purpose of get- 
ting supplies for his countrymen in Alaska until he 
fell in love with the beautiful sixteen-year-old daugh- 
ter of Commander Arguello. She returned his affec- 
tion and the two became engaged. The Commander 
was then prevailed upon by his family and friends 
and even the good padres themselves, to allow Rez- 
anof to take supplies to Alaska. The Commander 
finally consented, as he argued that this could not 
be called trading with a foreign country when Rez- 
anof was to be one of his family. Rezanof was given 
to understand, however, that he could not expect fur- 
ther supplies. 

The handsome young count declared he must go 
to Russia and get his emperor's permission to marry 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 101 

the fair Californian, expecting to return to Califor- 
nia and claim his bride after this consent had been 
obtained. Amidst the good wishes of many friends 
he sailed away once more and this was the last time 
that Concepcion Arguello saw her lover. He was 
taken ill and died while crossing the wastes of Si- 
beria. It was not mitil some thirty-six years later 
that Concepcion even knew that he had died. She 
waited vainly for him and later became a nun. 

Bret Harte has beautifully told this story in the 
poem which immortalizes the name of Concepcion 
de Arguello. 

The Russians continued to live and trade in Cali- 
fornia until the supply of otter was exhausted, and 
in 1841 the property at Fort Ross and all claims were 
sold to John Sutter.* 



* The purchase of Alaska, in 1867, from Russia by the United 
States, finally terminated the Russians' landed interest in North 
America. 



102 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



CHAPTER XIV 

ROMANTIC CALIFORNIA 

PROJECT— THE SOCIAL LIFE FROM 1770 TO 1846. 

Topics — The Style of Living. Fiestas. Fandangos. 

Horseback Riding. Rodeos. Gambling. Happy Days. 

The romance and color, the kixury and ease, the 
picturesque costumes and style of living, the freedom 
from all worries which obsess civilization, were all 
marks which cast a glamor over the early days in 
California, a period which has been made famous 
in song and in story. 

California's romantic days were those when Spain 
was in control and of the early part of the Mexican 
era. While the Revolutionary War was raging in the 
eastern states, California was enjoying a golden age. 
There was plenty of land. There were numerous 
flocks. Crops were growing in abundance. Large 
ranches were flourishing. The missions were pros- 
perous and filling their place in the life of the In- 
dians. Wild game abounded. Ships came to the 
coasts bringing shiploads of silks, satins, linen and 
jewelry, and these were quickly exchanged for the 
things that California produced, including hides and 
tallow. The articles of trade came from the Atlantic 
states and from the Orient, 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



103 




104 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

How the women reveled in the beautiful silks and 
satins ! How colorfully they arranged laces and silks 
into dresses of beauty and grace ! The men too wore 
picturesque raiment, wide brimmed hats, satin and 
velvet coats of bright colors and tall boots and some- 
times spurs of silver and gold when they were riding. 

Speaking of this period one historian says : "Look- 
ing at California's Mexican era from one point of 
view, there is a feeling of regret in the heart that 
the splendid, happy idleness of it ever passed away. 
Those were the days when people were not concerned 
with the strenuous materialism and commercialism 
of modern life. There was no greed, very little am- 
bition and a great deal of peace. California was then 
a country of vast estates. The cattle roamed on the 
hills, the fertile soil was taxed only to a degree which 
would give sustenance to the population. There was 
plenty of running water for man and beast; the 
doors of the great mission hospices were open with a 
welcome that was endless and without price to whom- 
ever might fare along El Camino Real. And the 
door of every man's house was open in the same way. 
There was marriage and giving in marriage, many 
children, much joy, little hate and a contentment that 
was as vast as the sun and moon and stars that 
shone upon the white peaks of the Sierras, the swing- 
ing lomas and the flower-flamed vales that stretched 
between Sonoma in the Valley of the Seven Moons 
and San Diego lying warm in the embrace of the 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 105 

dreamy hills that close in upon the Harbor of the Sun. 

"During all these years California had no rail- 
roads, no bridges even, no telephones, no automo- 
biles, no boards of trade and no intrusion from with- 
out except the visits of the Yankee traders who had 
rounded the Horn with New England merchandise 
to barter for the hides and tallow of the missions; 
a Russian now and then from the north, an occasional 
American pioneer who had wandered through the 
mountain passes from the east, and maybe a French- 
man or an Englishman once in a great while who 
came to see what might be seen — and that was all." 

The chief ruler of California during this period 
was a governor appointed by the central authority 
of New Spain or Mexico. Under the governor there 
were officers who were called prefects and sub-pre- 
fects. There were other officers if they were needed 
and the governor was himself the military command- 
er. Seven members composed the lawmaking body 
and they met but once in four years. The alcaldes, 
or magistrates, were important in their way and set- 
tled quarrels and helped to preserve the peace. 

Grants of land were made by the Spanish and Mex- 
ican governments to residents in California, and 
these were later confirmed by the United States when 
it came into possession. In all about nine million 
acres were given away. If these old families had 
been able to hold possession of their estates their de- 
scendants would be very wealthy now. It was nee- 



106 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

essary to have large tracts of land so cattle could 
roam over them for food. 

The people, men and women alike, travelled from 
one home to another on horseback. That was their 
only means of travel and they owned fine horses and 
beautiful hand-carved saddles which were greatly 
treasured. The homes were built of adobe and fin- 
ished with lime wash of different colors. The roofs 
were of red tile. Orange groves, vineyards, fields 
and gardens of many varieties surrounded these 
homes, which were graciously opened to every way- 
farer whether he came to stay for a day or a month. 
In the bed chamber of the guest there was even left 
a pile of money from which the guest might help 
himself if he were in need. Guests were welcome to 
take a horse or to fill their needs and desires at will. 

Hunting the wild beasts and fowls, the rodeo or 
round-up, the fandango or dance, and bull fighting- 
were some of the amusements. Work was not a 
serious factor of the time. The people were pleasure 
loving, luxurious and lazy, and a fandango might last 
for several days. The dancers were tireless if it were 
time to dance and in order to get to festive places 
they would ride many miles on horseback and often 
carry their gay clothes strapped on the saddle. 

Perhaps there was an ugly side to all this romance 
and charm, for we are told that there w^as much 
gambling and drinking in the lives of the care-free 
people. They were not making definite progress in 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



107 




108 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

civilization, but they were happy and contented and 
kindly and generous with one another. 

The most important place in California during both 
the Mexican and Spanish eras was the capital, Mon- 
terey. 

In his book, 'Two Years Before the Mast", R. H. 
Dana, in 1828, when he made a trip to the Pacific 
Coast, describes Monterey: 

'The town lay directly before us, making a very 
pretty appearance; its houses being of whitewashed 
adobe, which gives a much better effect than those 
of Santa Barbara, which are mostly of a lead color. 
The red tiles, too, on the roofs, contrasted well with 
the white sides, and with the extreme greenness of 
the lawn upon which the houses, about a hundred in 
number, were dotted about, here and there, irregu- 
larly. There are in this place, and in every other 
town which I saw in California, no streets nor fences 
(except that here and there a small patch might 
be fenced in for a garden), so that the houses were 
placed at random upon the green. This, as they are 
of one story, and of the cottage form, gives them a 
pretty eft"ect when seen from a little distance." 

Other small settlements during this time were San 
Diego, which was important as a trading point and 
a busy little place with its good natural harbor; 
''Santa Barbara was a town of about one hundred 
white-washed, red-roofed adobe houses, and the great 
mission standing back on the commanding hills, a 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 109 

mighty landmark to the mariner then as it is today" ; 
Los Angeles and San Jose were dirty and of slow 
growth and the people gambled and drank to excess; 
Santa Cruz had a few homes clustered about the 
mission, and that was all. Of San Francisco from 
the bay it is said: "Beyond, to the westward of the 
landing place, were dreary sand hills, with little grass 
to be seen and few trees, and beyond them higher 
hills, steep and barren, their sides gullied by the 
rains. Some five or six miles beyond the landing 
place, to the right, was a ruinous presidio and some 
three or four miles to the left was the Mission of 
Dolores, as ruinous as the presidio and almost de- 
serted, with but few Indians attached to it and but 
little property in cattle." 

It would not be fair to write of the romantic days 
of California without emphasizing the gay celebra- 
tions that took place when there was a wedding. 
The silver-tongued, soft-toned caballeros in their pic- 
turesque attire, their guitars and their love of love 
and of life, were ardent in their wooing of the seno- 
rita of their choice. The dusky haired maids were 
closely watched and guarded by their duennas, but 
they married young and raised families of their own. 
Through the soft, sweet scented air of the California 
nights the caballeros could be heard strumming their 
guitars beneath the windows of their beloveds and 
singing in rich, soft voices the appealing love songs 
that the passionate sons of the south know and can 



110 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

sing so well. Probably many a time did a pair of 
bright eyes peek through the rose-draped window 
to the garden below ere the watchful duenna inter- 
fered. How gallant were these caballeros at the 
fiestas, the races and the bull fights and how poig- 
nant with youth and love was the atmosphere when 
there was a gathering of the youth and beauty of 
California! Then the wedding! The solemn cere- 
mony read by the padre amidst the brilliant gather- 
ing of friends and relatives ! The luxurious feast 
and then the dancing, oftentimes for several days and 
nights ! The senoritas looked forward to their wed- 
ding day from the time they were able to talk until 
the happy day arrived. The bridegroom gave beau- 
tiful gifts of jewels and laces of rare value to his 
bride. What a time it was for the senorita's friends 
to gather and admire the generosity and good taste 
of the happy senor ! 

The Spanish and Mexican young people intermar- 
ried with the Russians, and with the Americanos, or 
Gringos, as they were called, when they began to 
arrive in California. 

The closing of these happy days began during the 
turbulent times of the Mexican rule, when Mexico 
was trying to gain her freedom from Spain and fi- 
nally declared herself a Republic in 1822. The com- 
ing of the Americans and then the gold rush in 1849 
brought with the many stalwart men of integrity 
and worth an influx of undesirable adventurers who 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



111 



cheated the simple and generous residents of CaH- 
fornia, and the romantic days of Cahfornia were at 
an end. The fever for gold, the lust of conquest, 
swept away the lazy, happy, carefree days of the 
Spanish era in a whirlpool of distress, and this time 
can never again exist. Civilization with all its ex- 
actions holds the Golden State in its grip. 




Old Spanish house — Bixby ranch, near Long Beach 



112 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



CHAPTER XV 

JEDEDIAH SMITH 

PROJECT— THE FIRST OVERLAND JOURNEY TO 
CALIFORNIA, 1826. 

Topics — Difficulties on a New Trail. Fur Trappers. 
Trouble with the Indians. The Great Courage of the 
First Pathfinders. 

Jedediah Smith was the first American trapper to 
reach CaHfornia over land. He had been trapping 
as far west as the Great Salt Lake. In 1826 he 
gathered together a party of fifteen men and started 
southwest, down the Colorado, across the Mohave 
Desert to the San Gabriel Mission, near Los Angeles. 
In San Gabriel, Smith and his party were unwel- 
come and were regarded with such distrust that he 
was ordered to surrender his arms. Displeased with 
this treatment. Smith went on to San Diego and com- 
plained to the governor. Some white men, captains 
of ships then in the bay, heard of the trouble and 
vouched for him. He was asked, however, to leave 
the locality and go home the way he had come. He 
left, but not in the direction he was told, as he wish- 
ed to go up the coast to Oregon. On the way he 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 113 

was attacked by Indians, and returned to the San 
Bernardino country without provisions and in need 
of help. 

After starting once more, the next trouble encoun- 
tered was at Mission San Jose, when Padre Duran 
accused the men of inciting the Indians to revolt. 
This is said to be untrue. Studying his territory and 
the animals as he went. Smith began his return march 
to Salt Lake. He describes his trip for us himself: 
'*On May 20, 1827, with two men and seven horses, 
and two mules laden with hay and food, I started 
from the valley. In eight days we crossed Mount 
Joseph, losing on this passage two horses and one 
mule. At the summit of the mountain the snow was 
from four to eight feet deep and so hard that the 
horses sank only a few inches. After a march of 
twenty days eastward from Mount Joseph (Lassen's 
Peak), I reached the southwest corner of the great 
Salt Lake. The country separating it from the moun- 
tains is arid and without game. Often we had no 
water for two days at a time; we saw but a plain 
without the slightest trace of vegetation. Farther 
on I found rocky hills with springs, then hordes of 
Indians who seemed to us the most miserable beings 
imaginable. When we reached the Great Salt Lake 
we had left only one horse and one mule, so ex- 
hausted that they could hardly carry our slight lug- 
gage. We had been forced to eat the horses that 
had succumbed." 



114 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

Gathering supplies and eight men, Smith rejoined 
the men he had left in California, and they went to 
Monterey. Here the men were still regarded with 
suspicion, and they had to furnish bond before they 
could get any provisions for their trip through the 
north. 

On the way north the men collected many beau- 
tiful furs. One morning, as they were eating break- 
fast, Indians attacked the party, killed all but Smith 
and two men, who were not in the camp at the time, 
and took the furs the trappers had secured. Smith 
and his companions lost their rifles and could get no 
game for food. They travelled northward to Van- 
couver and upon their arrival were almost famished 
and in a pitiable state. 

They were received kindly, and a party was im- 
mediately organized to recover the stolen posses- 
sions from the Indians. The leader of the party was 
Tom McKay, an experienced Indian fighter. Mc- 
Kay recovered all the stolen goods, and returned them 
to the fur trappers, who arrived safely with them 
at Salt Lake. 

Smith's adventurous journeys occupied more time 
than any man had before spent in hunting in these 
regions. It took much stalwart courage and strength 
to carry them through. 

It is said that the Humboldt River was called 
Mary's River by the Americans after Smith's visit, 
as he so named it for his Indian wife. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 115 



CHAPTER XVI 

JOHN CHARLES FREMONT 

PROJECT— EXPLORATIONS OF WESTERN TERRI- 
TORY AND LIFE OF JOHN CHARLES FRE- 
MONT FROM 1840 TO 1890. 

Topics — First Expedition of Fremont to the Rocky 
Mountains, 1841. Second Expedition of Fremont, 
Crossing the Sierras Into California, in 1843. Fort 
Sutter. California, the Golden State, a Land of Nat- 
ural Beauty. Fremont's Third Expedition, an Errand 
of Peaceful Exploration, in 1845-1846. Fremont Defies 
Castro at Gavilan Peak, 1846. Archibald Gillespie's 
Secret Mission from the President. Fremont Takes 
First Steps in this Country's Conquest of California. 
The Bear Flag Republic, June 14, 1846. Sloat Raises 
the American Flag, July 7, 1846. The Battle of San 
Pasqual, December 5, 1846. Fremont Takes Posses- 
sion of California from Governor Pico, January 12, 1847. 
Fremont's Later Activities and Death. 

Thy error, Fremont, simply was to act 
A brave man's part, without the statesman's tact, 
And, taking counsel but of common sense, 
To strike at cause as well as consequence. 

— John Greenleaf Whitti-er. 



116 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 




Fremont was born at 
Savannah, South Caro- 
Hna, January 21, 1813. 
At sixteen years of age 
he was noted for his 
good scholarship. He 
had already begun, 
however, to show those 
temperamental qualities 
which made him one of 
the most interesting fig- 
ures in the history of 
the west, and left col- 
lege before graduating. 
The story of his life 
reads like a romance; 
engineer, pathfinder, ex- 
plorer, soldier, govern- 
or, U. S. Senator, and 
finally candidate for 
President of the United 
States, all in the brief 
of the sixteen 
from 1840 to 
He had bitter 
and faithful 
Hubert Howe 



space 

years 

1856. 

enemies 

friends. 



John Charles Fremont, 
1813 to 1890. 



Bancroft and other his- 
torians have written 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 117 

harshly of the mistakes he made, and have given him 
but Httle credit for his remarkable explorations, for 
the hardships endured and the happy and scholarly 
faculty he had in giving names worth while to so 
many of our attractive California places. 

Fremont did not belong to the red-shir ted type 
of explorer. He was a man of clean mind, a lover 
of nature, and was a man with a great vision. He 
did not succeed in everything that he attempted; 
indeed, he might be called a truly successful failure. 

One of his early friends was Mr. Pointsett,* at 
one time our minister to Mexico and afterward Sec- 
retary of War. He took a great interest in young- 
Fremont, and secured for him a position with Nic- 
ollet as second lieutenant of topographical engineers. 
Under Nicollet he began his explorations and made 
several expeditions to the north of the Missouri River. 

This was in 1838-39. In 1840, while Fremont was 
in Washington, he met Jessie Benton, the charming 
and talented daughter of Senator Benton of Mis- 
souri, and after a brief courtship married her. Be- 
cause of her charm of manner, and her devotion to 
the cause of the development of the west, her name 
is as well known in the history of California as is 
that of her illustrious husband. 

In 1842, while leading his first independent expe- 
dition, Fremont met that other explorer, Kit Carson, 
a meeting which resulted in a life-long friendship 

* Our beautiful scarlet Pointsettia was named for Mr, PointS'Ctt. 



118 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



and companionship. It was on this first expedition 
that Fremont and his party crossed the trackless 
prairies into the Rocky Mountains and cHmbed that 




Kit Carson, the Indian fighter and guide. 

lofty mountain, now named for him Fremont Peak, 
in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 119 

Here he raised the American flag, and reported 
the details of the trip to the Government at Wash- 
ington. A second expedition was immediately plan- 
ned and successfully carried out. Fremont in his 
''Memoirs" gives the following summary of the trip: 

"The circuit which we had made, and which cost us 
eight months of time and three thousand five hundred 
miles of travelling, had given us a view of Oregon and 
of Northern California, from tbe Rocky Mountains to the 
Pacific Ocean, and of the two principal streams which 
form bays or harbors on the coast of that sea." 

On this journey he followed the emigrant trail 
from Salt Lake to the Columbia, then down the Co- 
lumbia past The Dalles and, turning south, made a 
trail through Oregon to Fort Sutter. 

When Fremont came to the snow-clad Sierras, 
the Indians warned him and his party that it was 
impossible for them to cross the Sierras into Cali- 
fornia. One of the Indians, a very old man, made 
them comprehend in simple sign language: ''Rock 
upon rock, rock upon rock, snow upon snow, snow 
upon snow!" He told them that his provisions were 
low and they must reach the place where the white 
men were. Under the leadership of Kit Carson the 
trip through the mountains was made without loss 
of life, but they did not reach Fort Sutter and Cap- 
tain Sutter's warm welcome, without suffering many 
hardships and privations. 

Fremont relates that on February 13, 1842, they 
were out of meat, and in order to live he gave per- 



120 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 




Fremont's Pass 
This narrow cut through the summit of one of the ridges over- 
looking the Mission of San Fernando marks the route 
taken by the Pathfinder and his party in entering the 
valley. Now unused, for the easy grades of the 
wonderful Ridge Route wind below, it stands 
as a monument to the great explorer. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



121 




The old adobe house, Sutter's 
Fort, before restoration. 



mission to kill the little dog Tlamatt that was with 
the party. Fremont says, "The man prepared the 
dog meat Indian fashion, scorching off the hair, 
washing the skin with soot and snow, and then cut- 
ting it up into pieces, 
which were laid on the 
snow. Shortly after- 
ward the sleigh arrived 
with horse meat, and 
we had an extraordin- 
ary dinner of pea soup, 
dog meat and mule." 
After many days, when the party was close to 
starvation, they reached the valley of the Sacramento 
and Fremont was en- 
thusiastic in his reports 
of its beauty and fertil- 
ity. Fremont described 
and gave the name of 
''Live Oak" to our Cal- 
ifornia oak tree. In his 
famous "Memoirs" he 
says, "A few miles from 
Sutter's place we found 
fields of flowering lupines. This beautiful shrub grew 
in thickets, some of them twelve feet high. They formed 
a grand bouquet and the perfume was very sweet and 
grateful. We also saw groves of wild oak, the most 




The old adobe house, Sutter 
Fort, restored. 



122 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 




CALIFORNIA HISTORY 123 

beautiful and symmetrical we had seen in the country. 
A lover of natural beauty can imagine with what pleas- 
ure we rode among the flowering groves which filled 
the air with a light and delicate fragrance. We came 
to fields where the California poppy of a rich orange 
color was numerous, and our road was one contin- 
uous enjoyment. The green pastures, flowers and 
the warm green spring were quite a change from 
snowy peaks where we had suffered so much." 

After visiting a few weeks with Sutter, who had 
generously furnished them with provisions, Fremont 
and his party continued south and up the valley to 
the headwaters of the San Joaquin River. Mount- 
ing through Walker Pass, named for Joseph Walker, 
who was one of the few early American explorers, 
Fremont crossed the Mohave Desert* and by the old 
Spanish trail to Salt Lake and then back over his 
old route to St. Louis. 

Fremont's third expedition was of tremendous im- 
portance to the United States and to civilization. 
President Polk and other far-sighted men of the gov- 
ernment, including Senator Benton, Fremont's father- 
in-law, could see the importance of securing to the 
United States the control of those lands bordering 
the western coast of the continent. They were de- 
sirable not only in themselves but as the gateway to 
India and the Orient. Polk's secretary of state, 

* Fremont named the river and desert after a native tribe. He 
spelled it "Mohahve," now written "Mohave." The Spaniards 
spelled the name "]\lojave/' taking the same pronunciation. 



124 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 




CALIFORNIA HISTORY 125 

James Buchanan, afterward President, and another 
member of his cabinet, George Bancroft, the noted 
historian, were convinced that war with Mexico was 
certain to come in the very near future. If, when 
war was actually declared, the United States could 
have a force in this Mexican territory of California 
ready to raise her standard and claim the country 
for the United States, it would be a tremendous ad- 
vantage to this country. Having this in mind they 
interested themselves in Fremont's third expedition, 
and sent him on this peaceful errand of exploration 
which was to blossom into military activity and re- 
sulted in the acquisition by the United States of the 
Mexican territories of California, Nevada, Arizona, 
New Mexico and a portion of Utah. 

In Fremont's party were Kit Carson; Dick 
Owens, after whom he named Owens Lake; twelve 
Delaware Indians; Preuss, his devoted friend and 
topographer; and about forty others. They crossed 
the plains, following the old trail to Salt Lake, and 
thence across Nevada, naming the river and moun^ 
tains which we know as the Humboldt after the great 
scientist. They crossed the Sierra Nevada Moun- 
tains and followed down the American River divide, 
reaching Sutter's fort in the Sacramento Valley, 
where they again enjoyed the open hospitality of 
John A. Sutter. 

From here Fremont went on to the town long be- 
fore founded by Anza and his party, Yerba Buena, 



126 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

a name later changed to San Francisco. Here he 
was the guest of a Mr. Leidesdorff, who had the 
finest house and the most beautiful garden in the lit- 
tle community, and Leidesdorff accompanied Fremont 
on to Monterey, where they visited the American con- 
sul, Mr. T. O. Larkin. Fremont wrote in his ''Mem- 
oirs" the following beautiful description of the Santa 
Clara Valley — the San Jose Valley, he calls it — and 
of Santa Cruz: 

The fertile valley of San Jose is a narrow plain of rich 
soil lying between equally fertile ranges from two thou- 
sand to three thousand feet high, covered on one side with 
wild oats, and wooded on the range toward the sea. The 
valley is op-enly wooded with groves of oak free from un- 
derbrush, and after the spring rains covered with grass. 
On the west it is protected from the chilling influences of 
the northwest winds by the Cuesta de los Gatos — Wild- 
Cat Ridge — which s-eparates it from the coast. 

Resuming the work of the expedition, on the 22d March 
we encamped on the Wild-Cat Ridge on the road to Santa 
Cruz, and again on the 23d near th-e summit. The varied 
character of th-e woods and shrubbery on this mountain, 
which lay between my camp and the Santa Cruz shore, 
was very interesting to me, and I wished to spend some 
days there, as now the spring season was renewing vege- 
tation, and the accounts of the great trees in the forest on 
the west slope of the mountain had roused my curiosity. 
Always, too, I had before my mind the home I wished to 
make in this country, and first one place and then another 
charmed me. But none seemed perfect where the sea was 
wanting, and so far I had not stood by the op-en waves of 
the Pacific. The soft climate of the San Jose Valley was 
very enticing, and in the interior I had seen lovely spots 
in the midst of the great pines where the mountains look- 
ed down, but the sea was lacking. The piny fragrance 
was grateful, but it was not the invigorating salt breeze 
which brings with it renewed strength. This I wanted 
for my mother. For me, the shore of "the sounding sea" 
was a pleasure of which I never wearied, and T knew that 
along this coast the sea brok-e deep against bold rocks or 
shining sands. All this I had reason to believe I would 
find somewhere on the Santa Cruz shore. We remained 
on the upper portion of the mountain several days. Th-e 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 127 

place of our encampment was two thousand feet above the 
sea, and was covered with a luxuriant growth of grass 
a foot high in many places. 

They called while at Monterey at the residence of 
Governor Pico, finding him absent, and also on the 
commanding officer of the Mexican forces, General 
Castro. Fremont told Castro that he was on a geo- 
graphical and topographical mission for his govern- 
ment, purely in the interest of science and commerce, 
with the intent also to find the best route for a road 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Castro, in the name 
of the Mexican government, granted permission to 
Fremont to carry on his work, but a few weeks later, 
while Fremont was camped in the Salinas Valley, he 
was ordered to leave the country. Fremont sent word 
to Castro in reply that he refused to comply with a 
request that was an insult to himself and to his gov- 
ernment. Moving his camp to the top of the ridge 
between the Salinas and San Juan Valleys, called 
Gavilan Peak, Fremont built a fort of heavy logs 
and raised the American flag to the cheering of his 
men. This was in 1846. 

Fremont, with a force of only forty men, in the 
heart of foreign territory and separated by a conti- 
nent from his government, defied the whole Mexican 
army. Had Castro's threat of force been carried out, 
history must have recorded for Fremont and Califor- 
nia a fight equal to Crockett's glorious defeat in the 
"Fall of the Alamo." Castro made no attempt, how- 
ever, to actively interfere with the intrepid Fremont. 



128 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

John Gilroy, an Englishman for whom the present 
town of Gilroy is named and who settled on its site, 
came to Fremont as Castro's messenger, asking him 
to join forces with the general in starting a revolu- 
tion against Governor Pico. Too wise to thus en- 
tangle himself and his government, Fremont refrain- 
ed from any hostile activity and proceeded with his 
mission of exploration. Consul Larkin reported to 
the then secretary of state as follows: "To Fremont 
is due from the Government unqualified praise for 
the patience, industry and indefatigable perseverance 
in obtaining the object he is engaged in," a report 
dated April, 1846. 

While in the upper Sacramento Valley, preparing 
to cross the mountains into Oregon and continue his 
explorations there, Fremont was overtaken by Lieu- 
tenant Archibald Gillespie, bearing special dispatches 
and verbal orders from the Government. Fremont 
was warned of impending war with Mexico and the 
desires of the Government with regard to California. 
He realized that the time had come to translate into 
action Senator Benton's vision and make the Pacific 
Ocean the western boundary of the United States. 

Fremont was in command of the only United States 
force west of the mountains, organized for explora- 
tion but by virtue of wilderness conditions equipped 
as a fighting force. He took the first step in this 
country's conquest of California and immediately 
commenced his military activities in accordance with 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



129 




130 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

his instructions. He was at this time surrounded by 
hostile Indian tribes, and had it not been for the bra- 
very of his Delawares the party would have been 
massacred. As it was, in the several fights which 
took place, several of his men were killed. Return- 
ing down the Sacramento Valley, Fremont's force 
formed a nucleus around which the scattered Amer- 
icans of the territory gathered. 

This was a critical time in the history of Califor- 
nia and of the United States. For a long time the 
British Empire had looked with covetous eyes upon 
this region. Russia also had desired it, and Mexico 
had held it though doing little for its progress. Fre- 
mont's reports to the Government at Washington 
had aroused our statesmen to the knowledge that pos- 
session of California was necessary to the growth of 
the United States. Fremont became at this time a 
commanding and an heroic figure in the progress of 
events. 

With war at hand, a proclamation had been issued 
by the Mexicans ordering all foreigners out of the 
territory. An American, William B. Ide, who had 
settled in the upper Sacramento Valley, organized a 
group of men, thirty-two in all, who made a surprise 
attack on the military post at Sonoma. At this time 
Sonoma was but a small settlement of a few adobe 
houses, the barracks, the residence of General Val- 
lejo and that of Jacob Leese, grouped about the plaza. 

At daybreak on June 14, 1846, Ide's forces sur- 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 131 

rounded Vallejo's house. Aroused from sleep, Val- 
lejo surrendered. Marching to the fort, the men sur- 
rounded it and demanded its surrender. Without the 
firing of a shot the Mexican force of eighteen gave 
way to superior numbers, and the Americans came 
into possession of nine brass cannon, two hundred 
and fifty guns and some personal property. Ide is- 
sued a proclamation declaring California a republic. 

But a republic called for a flag, and Ide's force 
had none. One of the men made, from a piece of 
coarse white cloth, a flag* about three feet by six, 
bearing a single star, a bear, and the inscription, 
''California Republic." Ide in a speech to the men 
of his company declared that the republic was found- 
ed on ''equal justice to all men." 

General Vallejo and a number of the prisoners 
were sent to Fremont, who sent them on to Sutter's 
Fort, where they were well treated. There were two 
unfortunate events, one the lassoing and dragging 
to death by the Mexicans of the two Americans, 
Cowie and Fowles; and the capture and killing by 
the Americans of Berreyesa and the Haros. 

War was now a certainty, though the aid of the 
United States was not sure. Fremont's orders were 
verbal ones and secret, and how far he and his men 
would go in support of the insurrection could not be 



* This original flag was preserved in San Francisco's Pioneer 
Hall until its destruction in the great fire of 1906. 



132 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 




CALIFORNIA HISTORY 133 

known. Ide and his men knew that without Fremont's 
aid the recapture of Sonoma by Castro was sure. 

With the arrival at Sonoma of Fremont and his 
men, all uncertainty was removed and the rejoicing 
was great. News was received of the raising of the 
American flag at Monterey by Commodore Sloat, 
whose fleet was anchored in the bay, and Fremont 
issued a proclamation taking possession of the coun- 
try in the name of the United States. This was on 
July 7, 1846, and Commander John B. Montgomery 
of the U. S. S. Portsmouth, then in the Bay of San 
Francisco, was ordered to raise the American flag 
on the plaza there. 

Uncertainty still existed as to the extent of Fre- 
mont's verbal instructions as carried to him from 
Washington by Gillespie. Commodore Sloat had 
taken a decisive step. Was Fremont acting under 
his orders or independently? Sloat was uncertain 
as to his own authority, and doubtful as to the ex- 
tent of his orders. Fremont in the meantime had 
gone south, routing the Californians and proclaim- 
ing possession by the United States. General Kear- 
ny, famous Indian fighter, had fought the battle of 
San Pasqual near San Diego. 

Don Andreas Pico, brother of Governor Pico and 
commanding the Californians, retreated at the ap- 
proach of Kearny and his men. Kearny ordered 
an attack, and in their eagerness to come to close 
quarters those Americans who had better horses 



134 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 




Proposed Memorial to the Battle of San Pasqual. 



quickly drew away from their comrades. When 
Pico saw that the American forces were becoming 
separated, he turned and began a running fight in 
which the Americans lost eighteen killed and wound- 
ed, among whom were both Kearny and Lieutenant 
Gillespie. The position of the Americans became 
critical. 

Kit Carson and Midshipman Edward Beale, after- 
ward a noted citizen of California with a large grant 
of land in Kern County, volunteered to make their 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



135 




Commodore R. F. Stockton in command 

of the U. S. S. Congress during the 

conquest of California. 



way through the 
enemy's Hnes to 
San Diego and 
secure help from 
the American 
forces there. 
Creeping through 
in the darkness of 
night, they reach- 
ed San Diego and 
secured reinforce- 
ments, resuUing 
in the surrender 
of the Mexican 
forces. 

In giving bat- 
tle to Pico, Kear- 
ny was acting in- 
dependently of the 
naval forces with 
which Fremont 



was working, and believing that this battle was un- 
necessary, the latter described it as an unfortunate 
affair. This was a further result of the uncertainty 
caused by the verbal instructions given to Fremont, 
which caused him, a military officer, to act with and 
under the instructions of Commodore Stockton rather 
than under the command of General Kearny, his 
ranking officer in the army. Kearny, angered by Fre- 



136 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

mont's frank criticism of his action at San Pasqual, 
ordered him as a prisoner to Washington, where he 
was courtmartialed and found guihy, only to be 
promptly pardoned by the President, who recognized 
his great services to the country. This battle of 
San Pasqual was the only conflict of note in the 
entire conquest of California. It was fought on De- 
cember 5, 1846. An appropriate memorial will be 
erected by the state to mark the site. 

On January 12, 1847, Governor Pico, at a place 
called Cahuenga, near the place where Hollywood now 
stands, signed the papers w4iich gave the United 
States full possession of California. Fremont ac- 
cepted them for our Government, and through those 
documents California, with other territory, was fi- 
nally definitely ceded to the United States by the 
treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo in 1848. Against the 
opposition of Kearny, Commodore Stockton appoint- 
ed Fremont acting governor of California. Kear- 
ny's charges, the courtmartial and the presidential 
pardon followed. 

Fremont's fourth expedition to California was by 
a new route, through New Mexico and Arizona, 
where he suft'ered many hardships, some of his men 
actually resorting to cannibalism. Settling in the 
state for which he had done so much, he was in 
1850 elected United States Senator at the first elec- 
tion held for this office in the new state. He served 
for but three months, the short term — drawing lots 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 137 

with the other successful candidate to determine 
which should have the long term, and losing — and 
failed of re-election. 

He spent 1852 and 1853 in Paris, returning to 
lead a fifth expedition to California and make a sur- 
vey of his previous route. He was the candidate of 
the Republican party in 1856 for President, running 
second in the race and securing more than a million 
votes. Serving as major in the Civil War, he issued 
an order emancipating the slaves — this was in 1861 — 
and was demoted. He resigned from the army in 
1862. He endeavored to promote a transcontinental 
railroad, and through his vision was later built the 
great railways which first spanned the country. His 
attempts to raise funds in Paris led to charges of 
fraud. Returning to this country he settled in New 
York, later serving a brief term as governor of the 
Territory of Arizona. He died in New York in 1890 
at the age of 77 . 

Fremont was not the favorite of fortune. He was 
not mercenary. He was not fitted for the "system." 
Fle was an individual, and this chapter is written that 
Fremont's name, his hardships, his vision and his 
services may be accessible to the children of Califor- 
nia. Of his death his sweet and gentle wife, Jessie 
Benton Fremont, wrote: 

"Of the many kindnesses unknown Fate reserved 
for Fremont, the kindest was the last. He had just 
succeeded in a most cherished wish. Peace and rest 



138 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

were again secured, when he was attacked in New 
York by what he thought was a passing summer 
illness. His physician recognized danger, and quickly 
the cessation of pain showed a fatal condition. 

''Night and day his loving son watched over hmi, 
and with their long-time friend and physician, kept 
unbroken his happy composure. Rousing from a 
prolonged, deep sleep the General said: 'If I con- 
tinue so comfortable I can finish my writing next 
week and go home.' Seeing the eyes closing again, 
his physician said, to test the mind: 'Home? Where 
do you call home. General?' One last clear look, a 
pleased smile: 'California, of course.'" 

"Here, scholar, cavalier, 

Bayard of thy brave new land, 
Poppi-es for thy bed and bier. 

Dreamful poppies foot and hand. 

"Poppies garmented in gold; 

Poppies of the land you won — 
Love and gratitude untold — 

Poppies — peace — the setting sun!" 

* John C. Fremont in his book, "Memoirs of My Life," writes 
of th-e naming of the Golden Gate: "To this gate I gave the name 
of Chrysopylae, or Golden Gate, for the same reasons that the 
harbor of Byzantium (Constantinople) was named the Golden 
Horn (Chrysoceras)." The name was suggested to him by the 
beauty of the sunset, the gatelike entrance to the bay, and the 
value of the harbor for the commerce of the world. He put the 
name on the map that was sent to the Senate of the United 
Sta'-s, in June, 1848. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 139 



CHAPTER XVII 

JOHN BIDWELL 

PROJECT — PIONEER SETTLEMENT IN NORTH- 
ERN CALIFORNIA. 

Topics — The First Organized Party for the Golden 
State. John Bidwell, a Fine Leader. Bidwell and the 
Bear - Flag Republic. Bidwell at His Chico Home. 
Bidwell, a Progressive Statesman. Mrs. Bidwell, a 
Fine Type of Pioneer Woman. 

John Bidwell, an early settler in California, A\^hose 
work has left its impress on the state, was born in 
1819 in New York of New England parents. At 
the age of two his family moved to Pennsylvania 
and later to Ohio, where he lived until he was nine- 
teen. When seventeen years old he entered Kings- 
ville Academy, which he reached by walking three 
hundred miles. So well did he do his work that at 
eighteen he was chosen principal of the same acad- 
emy. The following year he returned home and 
taught school during the winter. During these 
months he decided to come west, so with a stout 
heart, and but seventy-five dollars in his pocket he 
started upon a career unique in the annals of his 



140 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



newly-adopted land, which then belonged to Mexico. 
His journey was full of adventure. He stopped 

in Missouri to 
earn money by 
teaching, as well 
as with some in- 
tention of staying 
in that state, and 
it was not until 
1841 that his par- 
ty, the first or- 
ganized party to 
cross the moun- 
tains for Califor- 
nia, reached the 
Golden Gate. This 
was long before 
the gold rush. 

B i d w e 1 1 was 
leader of the par- 
ty, and soon after 
arriving in this 




John Bidwell, pioneer, who settled at 
Chico. 1849. 



state he became prominent in California affairs. 
Soon after arrival he went to Sutter's Fort and, 
entering the employ of General Sutter, remained 
nearly three years in his service. It was while 
working for Sutter that he, in company with such 
pioneers as Lassen, Thomes, Chard, Dye, Toomes 
and Reading, came up the valley to a point above 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 141 

Red Bluff. During this trip he named the many 
streams flowing into the Sacramento, and also saw 
the site of his future home at Chico. 

In 1844, during the Alvarado rebellion, Bidwell 
and Sutter, who were loyal to the governor, Michel- 
torena, were taken prisoners, but were soon released. 
In 1846 Bidwell was prominent in the conquest un- 
der Fremont, being one of the committee to form- 
ulate a plan for the California Republic, and having 
personal charge of General Vallejo, who was taken 
at Sonoma. Later Commodore Stockton commis- 
sioned Bidwell a lieutenant, and still later a major. 
After peace was declared. he returned to Sutter's 
Fort and became manager for that property as well 
as surveyor of all recent Mexican grants. 

In 1849 Bidwell purchased his Chico home, where 
he lived the remainder of his life. He was elected 
a member of the first constitutional convention, but 
failed to receive notification of his election in time 
to attend. That same year he was elected a mem- 
ber of the first state senate, and as such helped frame 
the first laws of the new state. In 1860 he was in 
the Charleston Democratic convention and voted for 
Stephen A. Douglas for the nomination for Presi- 
dent, and four years later was a member of the Bal- 
timore Republican convention, voting for Lincoln. 
That same year he was elected to Congress by a 
big majority. He served two years and refused re- 
election. Governor Stanford later making him brig- 



142 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



adier-general of the Fifth Brigade of state mihtia. 

While in Washington he met Miss Annie Ken- 
nedy, daughter of the superintendent of the census 
of 1850 and of 1860, and in 1868 they were married. 
On the Chico ranch they erected a beautiful man- 
sion, and planted many varieties of trees, the farm 
becoming one of the most famous in the state. In 
this home men of fame were often received. The 
Bidwells were consistent members of the Presbyte- 
rian church, and ardent lovers of education. They 
gave liberally to induce the state to locate the nor- 
mal school at Chico, and until his death the General 
was a trustee of that institution. 

In 1872 Bidwell was a candidate for governor on 
an independent ticket, but failed to be elected, al- 




Chico in 1854. 



(From an old print) 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 143 

though he ran close to the Repubhcan candidate. 

Very early, General Bidwell became convinced that 
the traffic in alcoholic liquors was wrong, and to 
prove his sincerity he uprooted all his wine grapes 
and became an advocate of temperance. His wife 
was for many years a leader among the women in 
this work. In 1890 the Prohibition party honored 
Bidwell by running him for governor, and two years 
later he was given the nomination of the same party 
for President. His popularity was shown by over 
260,000 votes, the largest number polled to that date 
by his party. 

Bidwell was a statesman, but not a blind party 
follower. He was deeply interested in affairs tend- 
ing to promote his part of the state, and donated 
liberally to roads, river navigation and railways, as 
well as to churches and schools. He was a lover of' 
flowers and could name every variety on his great 
farm. A lover of astronomy, he was a student 
of that science. His knowledge of surveying he put 
to good use in his new home, laying out many of 
the roads in Butte County. 

But his crowning glory was his treatment of the 
Indians of his community. While he obtained legal 
possession of his lands from Mexico, he recognized 
that the natives who ran wild and free over his do- 
main had some rights and he became their protector. 
The men found work on the farm, and the women 
were given lighter employment. Land was set aside 



144 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

for each family, homes were buih for them, and a 
church erected for their worship. In that httle 
chapel, for years, Mrs. Bidwell conducted religious 
worship for her charges. Under the Bidwell regime, 
the Indians developed into substantial citizens, and 
many of the younger ones were given good educa- 
tions through the generosity of their patrons. 

In addition to his many honors, he served for a 
time as regent of the State University, and his was 
the first name on the roll of that institution as a 
graduate, receiving the degree of A.M. in the early 
days of the school. 

John Bidwell died in 1900. It has been said of 
him: "He was the foe of ignorance and vice; the 
friend and patron of enlightenment. When from 
his bounty he gave his choice gifts for the advance 
of education and morality, this he did not as a char- 
ity, but in the line of his high ideal of citizenship 
and patriotic duty, as sacred trusts for high and 
lofty ends. Of none could it be better said: 'His 
life was gentle and the elements so mixed in him 
that nature might stand up and say to all the world, 
"This is a man." ' " 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 145 



CHAPTER XVIII 

PETER LASSEN 
PROJECT — PETER LASSEN, PIONEER. 

Topics — First Sawmill. Cattle Ranch. Service to Gil- 
lespie and Fremont. 

Peter Lassen was born in the city of Copenhagen, 
Denmark, August 7, 1800. He finished his appren- 
ticeship as a blacksmith when he was 27 years old, 
and two years later emigrated to Boston, Massachu- 
setts, later moving to Missouri. 

In the spring of 1839, the year in which Captain 
Sutter established his trading post in the Sacra- 
mento Valley, Lassen left Missouri and crossed the 
plains to Oregon. Arriving in the Willamette Val- 
ley and not being satisfied with the prospects, Las- 
sen took passage on an English vessel for California, 
landing at the Russian post of Bodega. Mexican 
troops endeavored to prevent the landing of Lassen 
and his party. Lassen wrote the American consul 
at Monterey, advising him of the destitute condition 
of the Americans and that they had determined to 
land under the protection of the Russians ; further, 
that if they did not hear from him in fifteen days 



146 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

they intended to start out, protecting themselves 
with their guns. 

Finally securing permission to remain, Lassen went 
south to the Santa Clara Valley and in 1841 bought 
some land near Santa Cruz, where he built a saw- 
mill, said to be the first in operation in California. 
He later traded the mill for a hundred or two mules 
and in 1842 drove them to the vicinity of Sutter's 
Fort, where they ranged while Lassen was in Sut- 
ter's employ. 

In 1843 Lassen, John Bidwell and others pursued 
a party of emigrants on their way to Oregon and, 
overtaking them near the present site of Red Bluff, 
recovered from them some stolen animals. Lassen 
was greatly pleased with the valley of the upper Sac- 
ramento, then entirely unsettled, and after his re- 
turn applied to Governor Micheltorena for a tract of 
land. This grant was called Bosquejo, and was on 
Deer Creek in what is now Tehama County. 

Surrounded by hundreds of Indians, Lassen lived 
here alone for months, in perfect safety. Not one 
of his several hundred head of stock was ever dis- 
turbed by the Indians. He treated them fairly and 
was trusted by them. Lassen laid out here a town 
called Benton City. It was here Fremont with fifty 
of his men stayed for three weeks in the spring of 
1846; and it was here that, in April of 1846, eight 
days after Fremont had left on his way to Oregon, 
Lieutenant Gillespie arrived with dispatches for him. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 147 

Lassen, with several other men, started with Gil- 
lespie to overtake Fremont. On May 8 two of these 
men rode into Fremont's camp on the west side of 
Klamath Lake and told him an officer was trying 
to overtake him with dispatches from the govern- 
ment; and that Gillespie's party was in great dan- 
ger from the Indians and would all be killed unless 
help was sent at once. Fremont immediately started 
back with a small party of his men, riding sixty miles 
that day. Gillespie reached their camp at sundown, 
and that night they were attacked by Indians, three 
of Fremont's Delawares being killed. 

Had it not been for Lassen's knowledge of the 
country, enabling Gillespie to safely reach Fremont, 
these dispatches might never have been delivered; 
Fremont would have continued to Oregon and the 
whole course of events changed. England, hover- 
ing near the gate, would have entered California. 

Lassen, treating the Indians with all friendliness, 
had great confidence in them, and it was this confi- 
dence which brought about his death in 1859. He 
and two other men set out on a prospecting trip to 
the Black Rock region in northwestern Nevada, in 
search of silver. They camped one evening in a can- 
yon and while getting supper an Indian, carrying 
a muzzle loading rifle, came into camp. The Indian 
had neither powder, caps nor bullets, and in dumb 
show made known his wants. Wyatt and Clapper, 
Lassen's companions, objected, but Lassen insisted 



148 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

upon giving the Indian a good supply of ammuni- 
tion, saying that all the Indians knew "Uncle Pete" 
and would not harm him. 

Just at daybreak the following morning, Wyatt 
was awakened by the report of a rifle. He sprang 
from his blankets and called his companions. Clap- 
per was dead, shot through the temple. "Uncle 
Pete" stood by his bed, rifle in hand, trying to dis- 
cover where the shot had come from. A second 
shot, and Lassen fell, fatally wounded. 

A brave pioneer and an honest, kindly man, Las- 
sen's name stands fairly with that of Svitter and 
Bidwell. Mount Lassen, our only active volcano, 
commemorates his name, and his memory is honored 
as well in the Lassen National Park, Lassen County 
and the Lassen school district of Tehama County. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 149 



CHAPTER XIX 

THE DONNER PARTY 

PROJECT— CROSSING THE PLAINS IN COVERED 
WAGONS, 1846. 

Topics — Finding a New Trail. The Tragedy of the 
Plains. The Approach of Winter. The Storm in the 
Mountains at Donner Lake. Starvation. The Relief 
Party. 

One of the deeper shadows which fall across the 
pages of California history is the story of the Don- 
ner party, that little band of starving people who one 
by one died in the snows of the desolate Sierras un- 
til only a handful escaped to reach the green valley 
of the Sacramento. Theirs is a story of almost in- 
credible hardship and privation, of weak cowardice 
on the part of some and of the noble bravery of oth- 
ers; a story of indescribable suffering and death. 
It is a story which has given a name to one of Cali- 
fornia's loneliest lakes, now marked with a monu- 
ment of stone and bronze, a monument not more 
enduring than the story of the men, women and chil- 
dren who suffered by the frozen shores of the moun- 
tain-encircled lake. 



150 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 




On the Overland Trail. (From an old print) 

These picturesque caravans of covered wagons have been the 
source of material for poets, novelists and historians. 



Early in the year of 1846 a party of emigrants 
was preparing to leave Illinois for that wonderful 
land of sunshine and flowers which lay so far to the 
west. For several years people had been making the 
long trip in increasing numbers and tales of the won- 
derland crept back to draw more and more people 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 151 

to the shore of the Pacific. Neighbor had talked to 
neighbor, until now, in April, several families of 
Springfield had decided to make the venture. They 
had sold their Illinois land, loaded their wagons with 
supplies for the long journey and with the things 
they would need in the new land. 

There were in the party thirty-one persons, who 
had placed themselves under the leadership of Jacob 
Donner* and James F. Reed, with twelve loaded 
wagons and their cattle and horses. Knowing little 
of the country they were to penetrate and of its dan- 
gers, the venture seemed to them a pleasure trip. 
The prairies were green with spring. Their animals 
were fresh and vigorous. Feed and Mater for them 
were abundant. Rumor of trouble with the Indians 
there was, of course, but the men were well armed 
and confident of their ability to care for the safety 
of the party. Then, too, there were constant addi- 
tions to the train as it travelled farther and farther 
west. Other families with their stock and wagons 
joined the band until by the time the valley of the 
Platte was reached the train numbered close to forty 
wagons, a strong and confident caravan. 

They saw many Indians and had many adventures 
both with the wild men of the plains and with the 



* Patrick Breen, who was a member of the party, wrote a diary 
of the events. The Breen family were afterwards prominent in 
Cahfornia, one of them a judge in San Benito County for many 
years. Among other well known names were Murphy, Graves, 
Harlan, Ritchie, Bryant, Grayson, Dunleavy, Russell, West, etc. 



152 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

animals which were so plentiful along their route. 
Not all the trouble was with the Indians. With so 
large a party, travelling together day after day, dif- 
ferences of opinion were bound to arise, and some 
of these differences developed into serious quarrels. 
Some flared and were fought out. Other quarrels 
smouldered, only to break out later on. 

It had been the intention of the leaders of the 
party to travel to California over the regular route, 
the Fort Hall road, as it was called. But at Fort 
Bridger a man by the name of Hastings told them 
of a route he had discovered which was at least three 
hundred miles shorter than the old trail and strongly 
advised them to take it. Most of the train decided 
against the change of route, but a number of the 
families, including Donner and Reed, turned their 
wagons and started on the Hasting's Cut-oft'. 

The directions given by Hastings were vague and 
the party lost much time. They found the course 
through Weber Pass rough and almost impossible 
of passage with their wagons. Both cattle and men 
were worn and almost exhausted. Longer on the 
way than they had expected, their provisions were 
running low, and before them lay a wide reach of 
desert without water or grass. They feared their 
food would not last them until they reached Califor- 
nia. Some of their decreasing oxen were lost in the 
desert waste, when they rushed wildly toward what 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 153 

seemed a body of water, but which proved to be a 
mirage, deceiving some of the men as well. 

As the emigrants neared the Sierra Nevada Moun- 
tains, the conditions were so desperate with the near 
approach of winter that two men of the party, C. T. 
Stanton, and William McCutchen, volunteered to go 
on in advance of the train and try and reach Sutter's 
Fort, where they expected to be able to secure pro- 
visions and assistance. Carrying letters to Captain 
Sutter and leaving behind them^ their almost starv- 
ing friends, the two men quickly passed from sight. 

At the crossing of the Humboldt River one of the 
smouldering quarrels burst forth. The crossing was 
so rough and the oxen so nearly exhausted, it was 
found necessary to double the teams, six oxen to a 
wagon. Reed was away with his gun, hoping to 
add a deer to their scanty supply, and a man named 
Elliott was driving Reed's team, which at the time 
was hitched with a team driven by John Snyder. 
Snyder was a man of rather ugly disposition, and 
there had been ill-feeling between Elliott and him- 
self for some time. 

As they urged the weary teams up the steep slope 
with the heavy wagon, Snyder brutally beat the oxen 
with his goad, and when Elliott remonstrated Sny- 
der attacked him. Reed, returning just at this time, 
interfered in Elliott's behalf, and was in turn at- 
tacked by the maddened Snyder, who struck him 
repeatedly with the butt of the ox-goad. Reed's wife. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 




North Fork of the American River. The sides of this canyon 
are scarred with the overgrown trails of the pioneers of '49. Mil- 
lions of dollars in gold dust and nuggets have been taken from 
the canyon. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 155 

fearful for his safety, rushed to his assistance and 
was struck by Snyder. Reed then drew his hunting 
knife and instantly killed Snyder. 

Excited by the tragedy, friends of the slain man 
would have hung Reed at once to a wagon pole, but 
it was finally decided to banish him from the train. 
The first intention was to send him off without sup- 
plies, but Reed's little daughter carried to him a 
small bag of provisions and a gun, ajid, mounted 
on his gray racing mare. Reed went on ahead of 
the party. 

Much injustice has been done Reed in the various 
accounts of the Donner party. That he killed Sny- 
der is not denied, but it was done after great prov- 
ocation and in defense of his wife, whose life he 
justly believed to be in danger. Reed was a strong 
man and a good leader. That he was a brave man 
is proved by his later return through the deep moun- 
tain snows with provisions, after he had himself 
safely reached the valley. 

Shortly after Reed's departure, Stanton returned 
from Fort Sutter with a pack train of seven mules, 
loaded with provisions. McCutchen, being ill, was 
not able to return. Stanton brought news to Mrs. 
Reed of her husband, whom he had passed well on 
his way to Sutter's Fort. It was now nearing the 
end of October and snow had already fallen on the 
higher peaks. C. F. McGlashen tells of the situa- 
tion in these words : 



156 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

"Generally the ascent of the Sierras brought joy 
and gladness to weary overland emigrants. To the 
Donner party it brought terror and dismay. The 
party had hardly obtained a glimpse of the moun- 
tains ere the winter storm clouds began to assemble 
their hosts around the loftier crests. Every day the 
weather appeared more ominous and threatening. 
The delay at the Truckee Meadows had been brief, 
but every day ultimately cost a dozen lives. 

''On the twenty-third of October they became thor- 
oughly alarmed at the angry heralds of the gather- 
ing storm and with all haste resumed their jour- 
ney. It was too late! 

"At Prosser Creek, three miles below Truckee, 
they found themselves encompassed with six inches 
of snow^ On the summits the snow was from two 
to five feet deep. This was October 28, 1846. Al- 
most a month earlier than usual, the Sierra had 
donned its mantle of ice and snow. 

The party were prisoners. All was consternation. 
The wildest confusion prevailed. In their eagerness 
many went off in advance of the main train. There 
was little concert of action or harmony of plan. All 
did not arrive at Donner Lake the same day. Some 
wagons and families did not reach the lake until the 
31st day of October; some never went farther than 
Prosser Creek, while others, on the evening of the 
29th, struggled through the snow and reached the 
foot of the precipitous cliff's between the summit and 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 157 

the upper end of the lake. Here, baffled, wearied 
and disheartened, they turned back to the foot of 
the lake." 

Finding it impossible to proceed, cabins* were built 
and the cattle killed for food. The company pre- 
pared as best they could to remain until the spring. 
The shelter was poor and snow drifted freely through 
the roofs and walls of the cabins. For days and 
nights at a time wet clothing was worn with no 
means of drying it. Food was giving out and people 
were dying of starvation. Hides and even boots 
were boiled for food. 

C. T. Stanton again offered to go to the valley 
for help. With Patrick Dolan, a big hearted Irish- 
man, and thirteen others, Stanton started out across 
the wilderness of snow-covered ridges and deep can- 
ons. To Mrs. Reed and her little family, Dolan gave 
his pitifully little share of food. Through almost 
constant storms, over the increasingly deep snows, 
the men struggled on. Brave Stanton, blinded by 
the snow, was unable to win through, and died in 
the mountains. One by one others died, and when 
the few remaining members of the relief party finally 



* The Townsend-Murphy party had camped here the previous 
year and a few cabins remained. The cabin which th-e Breen fam- 
ily occupied was built in 1844 by Joseph Foster, Allan Montgom- 
ery and M. Schallenberger (father of Margaret Schallenberger Mc- 
Naught), members of the Townsend-Murphy party. Young Schal- 
lenberger, then a youth of seventeen, occupied the Breen cabin 
alone during most of the winter of 1844-45, Foster and Montgom- 
ery being able to make their way to Sutter's Fort on snow shoes. 
He kept himself alive by eating foxes, which he trapped. 



158 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 




This monument has been erected at Donner Lake in the high 
Sierras in memory of the Donner party. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 159 

reached an Indian camp, it is said that the Indian 
women wept at their pitiful appearance. Only seven 
of the fifteen men who left the lake survived. 

Captain Sutter, hearing of the privations of the 
party at the lake, sent out his Indians with loaded 
mules. In all four relief expeditions were sent, one 
headed by the same James Reed who had been ban- 
ished from the party, but before aid could reach the 
snow-imprisoned people forty-two had perished. Of 
the eighty-one who had been caught at Donner Lake 
only forty-five people were rescued and taken to 
the California valleys. The names of many of these 
have since become linked with the history and prog- 
ress of California. 



160 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



CHAPTER XX 

THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD 

PROJECT— THE PRODUCTION OF GOLD IN CAL- 
IFORNIA. 

Topics — Discovery of Gold in Southern California, 1842. 
John Augustus Sutter and Sutter's Fort. James W. 
Marshall. Discovery of Gold at Sutter's Mill, January, 
1848. Rush to the Mines. Northern and Southern 
Mines. Panning Gold. The Rocker. Sluicing Gold. 
Hydraulic Mining. Gold Dredging. The Mother Lode. 
Quartz Mining. Early Mining Towns. 

This is the story of the Argonauts,* those hardy 
men of '49 and the early '50's who crossed the wide 
prairies, and the rough and trackless mountains, to 
search for the long hidden gold of the northern Cal- 
ifornia hills, the true Golden Fleece which Jason 
had sought in the dim and ancient days. 

Gold was first discovered in California, so far as 
there is authentic record, in southern California, 
about thirty-five miles northeast of Los Angeles and 



* Argonaut was th-e name originally given to those who sailed 
with Jason in his ship Argo in search of the fabled Golden Fleece. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



161 



not far from the old Mission of San Fernando. It 
was not found in large quantities and the shallow 

diggings were quickly ex- 
hausted, which no doubt 
accounts for the lack of ex- 
citement elsewhere than in 
the immediate vicinity. This 
was in 1842. 

In Northern California the 
Indians undoubtedly knew 
of the existence of gold, for 
we know that small quan- 
tities of it were occasionally 
brought to Monterey as ear- 
ly as 1843. But the real 
discovery, that which was 
of such supreme importance 
to California, came later. 
The climate of the lands bordering on the Pacific 
Coast, together with the reports of their wonderful 
fertility and the wealth to be obtained, was already 
turning the feet of the bolder pioneers westward, 
and after the close of the Mexican War several thou- 
sand of the adventurers had settled in various parts 
of Oregon and California. The tide was, however, 
flowing more strongly toward the settlements of the 
Willamette Valley, in Oregon, than toward the seem- 
ingly more barren lands of California, when the news 




James W. Marshall, who dis- 
covered gold at Coloma 
in 1848. 



162 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 




CALIFORNIA HISTORY 163 

of the discovery of the vastly rich gold deposits on 
the American River began to filter through. 

Immediately the trains of settlers which were on 
their way across the plains turned to the new El 
Dorado. Other trains started forth, many of them 
little prepared in their haste for the hardships ahead. 
Ships left the ports of the Atlantic Coast, some to 
sail around the Horn, others to land their passen- 
gers and cargoes at the Isthmus of Panama, whence 
the gold seekers would re-ship on the Pacific side. 
The first trickle of the tide of immigration into the 
new land had swelled to a mighty flood, and it is 
estimated that in the year following the discovery 
of the American River diggings fully 30,000 people 
braved the hardships of the several routes and ar- 
rived in California. 

Among those who had settled in California, at- 
tracted by its possibilities in cattle raising, in trad- 
ing and perhaps in agriculture, was John Augustus 
Sutter, born of Swiss parents in Baden, February 
15, 1803. After serving in the French army, where 
he became a captain, he came to America to select 
a place for a colony, and first located in Missouri. 
In company with a party of hunters, he travelled 
through what is now New Mexico and as far north 
as Fort Vancouver. He took ship for the Sandwich 
Islands, from there to Sitka, and then down the 
coast to San Francisco Bay to the little town of 
Yerba Buena. 



164 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 







CALIFORNIA HISTORY 165 

He secured from the Mexican government a grant 
of a large tract of land in the Sacramento Valley 
and in 1839 built, near the junction of the Sacra- 
mento and American Rivers, within what is now the 
limits of the city of Sacramento, a trading post and 
later an adobe fort.* 

Captain Sutter had in his employ many Indians, 
and under his directions they raised wheat and cat- 
tle, which were sold to the settlers who were already 
coming in. The fort served as a trading post, from 
which was supplied almost all of the vast expanse 
of the valleys of the Sacramento and San Joaquin 
Rivers. Fremont stopped at Sutter's Fort on sev- 
eral occasions, and was most hospitably received, and 
from the fort went forth many expeditions of relief 
to bands of immigrants who had fallen prey to hard- 
ships of the long trail. Sutter was a generous and 
open-handed man. 

Among the supplies urgently needed by the set- 
tlers was lumber for building. Hitherto the build- 
ings had been constructed almost entirely of adobe, 
the soil of the prairies being mixed with chopped 
grass or tules and pressed into large bricks, which 
were dried in the sun. Seeing the need for lumber. 
Captain Sutter determined to establish a sawmill and 
fixed upon a site on the south fork of the American 
River, about forty-five miles from the fort, a place 



* This fort, rebuilt on the same site and according to the orig- 
inal plan, is now used as a pioneer museum, containing many in- 
teresting relics of the days of gold. 



166 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

recommended to him by James W. Marshall, whom 
he had sent out for this purpose. 

Under Marshall's direction a road was built to 
the site of the mill and supplies carried in, and on 
January 23, 1848, the mill had been erected and was 
ready for use. To clear the millrace of debris, Mar- 
shall opened the floodgates and allowed the stream 
to run all night. In the morning he closed off the 
flow of water and walked down the bed of the race 
to see that all was in readiness. 

The light soil and sand had been carried off by 
the swift water, and among the pebbles which re- 
mained in the millrace Marshall saw some which 
shone yellow through the shallow water which cov- 
ered them. He picked up several of the pebbles and 
found that they were heavy, and that they could be 
hammered out like metal. Marshall says: 

"I thought it was gold, and yet it did not seem 
to be of the right color; all the gold coin I had 
seen was of a reddish tinge; this looked more like 
brass. I recalled to mind all the metals I had ever 
seen or heard of, but I could find none that resem- 
bled this. . . . Putting one of the pieces on a hard 
river stone, I took another and commenced ham- 
mering it. It was soft and didn't break: it there- 
fore must be gold, but largely mixed with some other 
metal, very likely silver; for pure gold, 7 thought, 
would certainly have a brighter color. . . . 

"When I returned to our cabin for breakfast I 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 167 

showed the two pieces to my men. They were all 
a good deal excited, and had they not thought that 
the gold only existed in small quantities they would 
have abandoned everything and left me to finish my 
job alone. . . . 

"While we were working in the race after this dis- 
covery we always kept a sharp lookout, and in the 
course of three or four days we had picked up about 
three ounces — our work still progressing as lively as 
ever, for none of us imagined at that time that the 
whole country was sowed with gold. . . ." 

On Marshall's next trip to the fort he told Sutter 
of the find, and showed him specimens of the gold. 
Sutter tested the nuggets* and found that Marshall 
really had found gold, but it seemed more important 
to him that his mill should produce lumber, and 
fearing that the men who were building a flour mill 
for him near the fort would desert their work and 
hasten to the mountains. Captain Sutter tried to keep 
the discovery a secret. 

Too many knew of the discovery. The news spread 
through the little colony about the fort, and to Mon- 
terey and Yerba Buena. It was not long before the 
towns on the coast were practically deserted, with 
their former citizens scattered over the foothills and 



* Captain Sutter turned to his books and read all that was given 
there as to the tests for gold. He was not prepared, of course, to 
test it except in a crude way, but be tried it in acid, hammered it, 
weighed it, and — it is said — even put some of the pieces in the 
water where a woman was boiling clothes. 



168 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

the lower slopes of the Sierras. Dispatches had been 
sent to Washington by the government officials at 
Monterey. The news spread through the east and 
through the newly settled territory of the middle 
west. All was excitement; all were eager to see the 
land of gold. No story was too wild to be believed. 

But little was known of the method of digging 
gold. Ships were loaded with all sorts of ingenious 
contrivances for separating gold from the soil, all 
of them equally worthless. Men set sail for Cali- 
fornia with no equipment other than the clothes they 
wore, expecting to pick up the nuggets from the sur- 
face of the ground. Ships sailing to the Isthmus 
were crowded with adventurers; even their decks 
were filled with passengers, all of whom were put 
ashore at Panama to make their way on foot, on 
mules, as best they could to the Pacific side, where 
they sometimes waited weeks for a vessel to carry 
them north to San Francisco Bay. 

Unwilling to wait for a ship to carry them around 
the Horn or to the Isthmus, thousands started over- 
land by wagon. The way was better marked now 
than it had been a few years before, but it still was 
a journey of terrible hardships. Ignorance of the 
equipment necessary for the trip brought unneces- 
sary privation to most of the adventurers. They 
lacked the things they needed and were burdened 
with things they could not use. The long trail was 
littered with the goods thrown away, with broken 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 169 

wagons and dead oxen and horses. The way was 
dotted with the low mounds which marked the graves 
of men and women and children. 

Gold had been found first on the south fork of the 
American River, and the first rush was to the dig- 
gings there. It took but a short time to fill to over- 
flowing the little valley where Sutter had built his 
mill, and then the eager men surged out over the 
hills around. Color* was found every place, it seem- 
ed. The low hills bordering the east side of the San 
Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys from what is now 
Mariposa County north to Shasta all gave trace of 
gold. Some was found close to the surface, ''in the 
grass-roots"; some was buried deep in the river 
bars. In the deep canons leading far back into the 
high Sierras, gold was found in gravel bars and 
along the ridges. It was picked by the handful from 
crevices in the rocks. What wonder that wild tales 
were taken all over the world of the ease with which 
wealth could be gathered in the mines of California. 
What wonder that every ship turned its prow toward 
the Golden Gate, bringing men of every nation. And 
what wonder that ships were deserted of their crews 
and captains on arrival in San Francisco Bay, all 
joining the mad rush to the mines. 

The mining region was spoken of as the Southern 
and the Northern mines. Those whose destination 



* When niiirers find traces of gold they say they have found 
color. 



170 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

was the Southern diggings, located in Mariposa, Tu- 
okmine, Amador and Calaveras Counties, usually 
went from San Francisco to Stockton, where they 
outfitted for the mines. The starting point for the 
Northern mines was Sacramento, whence the trails 
led to the mines of El Dorado, Placer, Yuba and 
the region of the Feather. The Cosumnes River 
was the dividing line between the Northern and 
Southern mines. 

The methods of the early miners were crude. They 
made rude bowls from sections of logs, batteaux they 
called them, and washed the gravel in these. Later 
they used shallow iron pans with sloping sides. Fill- 
ing one of these with the dirt or gravel supposed 
to contain gold — "pay-dirt," they called it — the miner 
carried it to the bank of the stream and, with a pe- 
culiar circular motion of the pan beneath the sur- 
face of the w^ater, quickly washed away the lighter 
dirt, leaving the heavy pebbles and the gold. This 
was called "panning." 

Later they constructed what was called a ''rocker," 
a contrivance into which the pay dirt was shoveled 
while water was poured on from dippers, meanwhile 
rocking the contrivance from side to side. The dirt 
was washed away, the pebbles screened to one side 
and the gold, because of its great weight, safely held 
in the "riffles" at the bottom. Two or more men usu- 
ally worked on one rocker and it was found to be 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



171 







172 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 







An illustration used in a book in London in 1850 describ- 
ing the California gold fields. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



173 




Panning out gold. 



(From an old London reprint) 



much quicker than panning. A longer form of rocker 
was called a ''Long Tom." 

Still later another method of working was used. 
Long sluice boxes were built, sometimes of hand- 
hewed boards, for sawed lumber was very scarce. 
These were placed end to end in a long line along 
the bed of the stream where the miners were work- 
ing. Riffles, which were little cross-bars, were laid 
in the lower end of the sluice line, and a stream of 
water allowed to flow through from above. Then 
into the swiftly flowing water the pay dirt was shov- 
eled, the dirt and rocks driving quickly through, the 
gold remaining. 



174 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

Water was very necessary in this kind of mining, 
called placering or placer mining, and because of it 
the early miners divided the diggings into two groups. 
The diggings on the higher ridges where there was 
water only during the winter and the early spring, 
they called the "dry diggings"; the river bars and 
beds they called "wet diggings". And very wet some 
of them proved to be, for sometimes companies of 
miners would work for months building a wing dam 
and sluice so as to turn the water aside from the 
river bed and carry it by, thus allowing the miners 
to secure the gold from the deep holes, only to have 
a flood come down from the higher hills and sweep 
all their work away. 

So many thousands of miners quickly exhausted 
the shallow diggings and in a few years another 
method came into use, called hydraulic mining. Wa- 
ter was carried in ditches about the sides of the hills 
until it was high above the gulch where the gold 
was to be washed, then it was carried straight down 
the side of the gulch in iron pipes and canvas hose, 
driving through a nozzle with tremendous force just 
as water is forced by a' fire engine through a hose. 
This stream of water, having such force that a man 
could not cut through it with an axe, was directed 
against the side of the gulch, and it quickly washed 
away soil and gravel ; even huge boulders were moved 
by the stream. This method of mining is now not 
allowed by law, because it was found that the rivers 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



175 




were being filled up with the dirt washed down from 
the hills, and that the river steamers soon would not 
be able to float in their old channels. 

As in so many different kinds of work, it was 

found that machinery 
could be used to do the 
work of many men in 
gathering gold from the 
gravel of the California 
streams, and great, un- 
g a i n 1 y contrivances 
were built called gold- 

A modern dredger at work. boatS Or dredgers. It 

is with these that gold is now mined from the river 
beds and valleys. 

Built on a great, flat-bottomed boat, the dredger 
carries an endless chain of huge buckets. These 
buckets, built of strong steel, dig deep into the gravel 
and make a pit filled with water in which the dredger 
floats. As the gravel is brought up by the buckets 
it is dumped into sluices in the boat itself, and as 
in the sluices of the early miners the gold sinks to 
the bottom and is caught in the riffles, while the peb- 
bles and heavy stones are carried away by the water 
and fill up the pit behind the boat. The dredger 
seems like some huge monster, devouring the land 
as it slowly moves along. 

The early dredgers as they worked the gravel of 
the level valley near Folsom or Oroville, left behind 



176 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

them a desolate country where before had been fields 
and orchards, for the lighter soil was covered with 
huge piles of rounded pebbles. Now, because it was 
found that the crude dredgers of the earlier days 
had lost much gold, these fields are being worked 
again, and this time it has been found possible to 
put the rock below where it belongs, with the fertile 
soil above. Soon orchards will be blooming where 
was desolation for so long. 

The early miners, of course, wondered where all 
the gold had come from. Some said that it came 
originally from volcanoes, some that it had been 
washed down from solid ledges of gold far back 
in the mountains; and so the miners were always 
hunting for that ledge, which they called the ''Mother 
Lode." They never found the source of all the gold 
taken from California's placers, for that was at the 
head of a river that long since ceased to flow, but 
they did find many rich mines, and up in Amador 
County near San Andreas and Angel's Camp was 
found a ledge of gold so rich that it has ever since 
been known as the ''Mother Lode." 

These "ledges" are of hard stone, called quartz, 
and in this quartz is the gold. Sometimes the gold 
can be seen and then it is said to be free gold, in 
specks and in threads running through the quartz. 
]\Iore often the gold is so finely divided that it can- 
not be seen, but in either case the rock must be crush- 
ed so that the gold may escape. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



177 



Where the diggings were richest there formed 
towns. Some of these towns, where at one time were 
thousands of busy men, are now but names with not 
even a blackened stone to mark a miner's cabin. 
Along Auburn ravine, in Placer County not far from 
Sacramento, where were the richest of the early dig- 
gings, there were once half a dozen towns: Ophir, 
Gold Hill, Newtown, Virginiatown, and others. At 

Gold Hill was once a 
town of more than a 
thousand inhabitants ; 
now there remains only 
a tiny cemetery with its 




moss grown stones. 



At 



Encampment at Sacramento, 
November, 1849. 



Virginiatown was a lit- 
tle city of several thou- 
sand, where now stand a 
few crumbling adobe ruins amid bearing orchards. 
Newtown is scarcely a memory, for not a trace re- 
mains. 

Some of the towns of the old days still live. Au- 
burn is a thriving city, as is Placerville, the ''Hang- 
town" of the old days. San Andreas and Angel's 
Camp, on the ''Mother Lode," are full of quaint re- 
minders of the days of the Argonauts, and Sonora 
is one of the towns which has held its own. Near 
Sonora is the town of Columbia, once with a popu- 
lation of ten thousand, boasting of numerous stone 
buildings, a great brick church, and three fire de- 



178 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 




CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



179 



partments. At one time so great was its import- 
ance that it was proposed to make it the capital 
of CaHfornia. 

Now there Hve amid the crmiibhng buildings less 
than a hundred people. The streets, curbed with 
pure white marble from the hills around, are grass- 
grown and empty. The brick church stands deso- 
late and alone in its little plot, for the country round 
about has been denuded of earth up to the very bor- 
der of the cemetery, which adjoins the church, leav- 
ing it perched high up above the bedrock. 




The walls of the old Wells-Fargo Express office in the lower 
Auburn ravine. This was once the site of rich "diggings.' 



180 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



This is the country of Bret Harte and Mark 
Twain, for it was near Sonora and Cohuiibia that 
they passed some of their time in the w^est. This 
is the country described by Mark Twain in "Rough- 
ing It," and the scene of many of Bret Harte's sto- 
ries. Of those days and scenes Cahfornia's own 
great poet, Joaquin Miller, has sung: 

''We have worked our claims. 
We have spent our gold; 
Our barks are astrand on the bars; 
We are battered and old, 
Yet at night we behold 
Outer oppings of gold in the stars. 

'Tho' battered and old, 
Our hearts are bold. 
Yet oft do we repine 
For the days of old, 
For the days of gold, 
For the days of '49." 

An old prospector. 

An interesting sidelight of life in California at this 
period is given by Jessie Heaton Parkinson in her 
book, ''Adventuring in California". This writer was 
so fortunate as to secure the diary of two prospect- 
ors. They were the original partners in Bret Harte's 
story, "Tennessee", which attracted almost world- 
wide interest. A portion of the diary reads : 




CALIFORNIA HISTORY 181 

'The week ending April 10. We have taken $162. 
'The week ending April 17. Our lead is crooked 
and we have only taken $60. 




(From "Adventuring in California," by Jennie Heaton Parkinson) 

Chaffee and Chamberlain, typical miners of the days of '49. 

The original characters of Bret Harte's 

"Tennessee's Partner." 

'The week ending April 24. Have taken $348. 

'The week ending May 8. Have taken $250. Pratt 
went to Sonora. On his way back, bought 2 cows. 
Paid $150 for them. 

'The water has failed. We discharge our men & 
give up washing for the season, & June 26, 1853, 
Chaffee & I start for San Jose, to see what the pros- 
pects are in that burg. We walk 20 miles & stop at 
Shoemakes(?). We were disappointed in getting a 
seat out of 3 stages, & finally take passage in a team; 



182 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



go to Blue Cottage & stay over night. 28, take one 
of the stages, & it whirled us into Stockton in a 
hurry. At 4 p. m., take steamer American Eagle 
for the city." 

Great amounts of gold were taken from the Cali- 
fornia diggings, and it is estimated that in the years 
from 1848 to 1856 the enormous sum of $450,000,- 
000 was produced. Owing to the small number 
of men working the mines, only $10,000,000 was 
brought from the mines in 1848. Four times that 
was produced in the following year. In 1853, the 
greatest year of all, more than $65,000,000 in gold 
was added to the wealth of the world. 

The California hills 
and mountains are 
marked by thousands 
of trails, some dim and 
overgrown by chappa- 
ral, others trodden 
daily by passing feet. 
These are lasting re- 
minders of the brave 
men of the days of gold 
who went deep into the 
then unknown hills, 
footsore and hungry, 
but always pressing on. When, in some high Sierra 
forest, we come upon one of these dim trails, the 
words of one of California's younger poets come to us: 




Hangtown — now Placerville — in the 
early 50's. The famous hang tree 
is at the left of the "Empire" build- 
ing. Studebaker began as a black- 
smith in the building at the ex- 
treme right. 

(From Daguerreotype) 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 183 

'Wonder who has passed here 

In the long ago, 
Laughing, weeping, sighing — 

I shall never know; 
Only know the hill trails 

As they are today — 
The makers of the hill trails 

Have long since passed away." 

7-Harry Noyes Pratt, 
in "Hill Trails and Open Sky." 



184 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



CHAPTER XXI 
DR. JOSIAH GREGG 

PROJECT — THE EXPLORATION OF HUMBOLDT 
BAY REGION, 1849. 

Topics — The Expedition of Dr. Josiah Gregg. The 
Great Difficulty of the Trip to the Ocean. The Native 
Indians. The Discovery of Trinity Bay, where Eureka 
is Now Located. The Bear Fight. The Death of 
Gregg. The Foundation of Eureka. 

The territory comprising Humboldt County was 
visited by the trapping party of Jedediah Smith in 
1827, but earher than that the coast had been vis- 
ited by explorers. In February, 1543, Cabrillo sailed 
along the coast and discovered and named the Cape 
of Perils. In 1604 the Fragata, a vessel belonging 
to Vizcaino's fleet, found shelter near Cape Mendo- 
cino. In 1849 Humboldt Bay was discovered by a 
party travelling overland under the leadership of 
Dr. Josiah Gregg. It was winter when the party 
reached the bay to which they gave the name of 
Trinity. 

At the time of the discovery of Humboldt Bay 
the northern coast of California was a primeval wil- 
derness. Its only inhabitants were wild beasts and 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



185 




A glimpse of Humboldt Bay, 1922. 



Indians. In October, 1849, a party of explorers was 
organized at a mining camp, Rich Bar, which was 
located on the Trinity River. Rich Bar was not a 
prosperous mining center. Only about forty miners, 
practically destitute, lived there, and so desperate 
was their condition that when friendly Indians who 
had visited the sea told them that it was ''not more 
than eight suns distant, that there was a large and 
beautiful bay surrounded by fertile and extensive 
prairie lands", the men determined to go to the bay 
and perhaps build a town. 

Dr. Josiah Gregg was chosen as leader of the ex- 
pedition. Twenty-four of the forty men at camp 
determined to join the party and two Indian guides 
were secured. 



186 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

November 5, 1849, was the day chosen for the 
start. For days before that date the rain poured in 
torrents. The dawn of November 5 brought no 
change. So miserable was the weather that the In- 
dian guides and sixteen of the white men refused 
to take the trip. The party was reduced to eight 
undaunted men. They were: Dr. Josiah Gregg of 
Missouri, Thomas Seabring of Ihinois, David A. 
Buck of New York, J. B. Truesdell of Oregon, 
Charles C. Southard of Boston, Isaac Wilson of 
Missouri, L. K. Wood of Kentucky, and a man by 
the name of Van Duzen. 

They took with them a supply of flour, pork and 
beans, sufficient to feed them for eight days. 

One of the members of the trip later said: ''The 
marked and prominent features were constant and 
unmitigated toil, hardship, privation and suffering." 

The Coast Range, which the men had to cross, 
was a series of mountains running north and south 
along the coast, while the men had to travel directly 
westward. They passed through heavy rains and 
snow, up steep mountain sides, over summits and 
down deep canons and ravines. They crossed South 
Fork of Trinity River, which Buck discovered when 
he went on ahead at one time to see if the ocean 
were in sight. Opposite the South Fork of the Trin- 
ity River they came to an Indian village. The sav- 
ages were afraid of them and left their homes and 
sought hiding places in the thickets and rocks, from 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 187 

which they watched curiously to see what the strange 
visitors would do The men, whose food supply was 
getting very low, helped themselves to the dried sal- 
mon they found in camp. Towards evening the In- 
dians returned with their faces painted and with 
every evidence that they meant to fight. The white 
men, by showing their rifles and firing them, over- 
awed the red warriors, who thereafter treated the 
visitors with the greatest respect. The Indians di- 
rected them still westward to the ocean, warning 
them a2;ainst other of the Indian tribes should thev 
change their course. 

After two more dayr. of travel, provisions were 
exhausted. The mules could find some grass on the 
hills and fared better than the exhausted and hun- 
gry men. Passing through valleys and over prai- 
ries, they were able in another day to kill some deer 
and dry some of the meat for rations. So hard was 
travelling that sometimes the distance covered aver- 
aged but seven miles a day. From the high moun- 
tains the men came to thick forests which presented 
terrible difficulties. For ten days all they had on 
which to exist was some flesh from bears they had 
killed, and later some bitter acorns. ''As the party 
got on lower ground the timber became thicker and 
thicker. Nature had not then been disturbed in her 
solitudes, and so luxurious was the growth of the 
redwoods, so interwoven the dense undergrowth, so 
nearly impassable the frequent barriers of fallen trees, 



188 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

that the utmost exertions could not accomphsh more 
than two miles of travel through the forest in a day. 
There were no trails; immense quantities of fallen 
timber covered the ground in almost impassable con- 
fusion, in many instances the logs being piled one 
upon another in such a manner that the onlv means 
of passage was to cut a way through. To go around 
them was often as impossible as it would have been 
to go over them. Two men were therefore sent 
ahead with axes who, as occasion required, would 
chop into the logs and slab off enough to construct 
a sort of platform by means of which the pack ani- 
mals were driven up on the logs and forced to jump 
off on the opposite side." 

At last, when the men were hardly able to travel 
further and three of the horses had died, the men 
heard the sound of the surf in the distance. They 
finally came to the sea at the mouth of what is now 
known as Little River. They travelled north from 
there until they came to a lagoon they could not 
pass. They then directed their steps south, deter- 
mining to go to San Francisco along the coast. Trav- 
elling south they camped on a headland they called 
''Gregg's Point" but which is now known by the 
name the Spanish gave it, Trinidad. 

While travelling south the men were in need of 
drinking water, and Buck and Wood went in oppo- 
site directions to search for it. Buck returned with 
some bitter water and explained that it came from 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 189 

a slough, and after some questioning it was revealed 
that Buck had dipped it from a bay of smooth wa- 
ter. This was on the night of December 20, 1849, 
and the next day, on returning to the place from 
whence the water had been taken, it was found that 
Buck had discovered the bay they were looking for. 
They called it Trinity Bay, but the name has since 
been changed to Humboldt. 

The next morning the party started northward, 
keeping so near the bay that they had to swim a 
part of the way. The second day they came to a 
beautiful plateau skirting the northeast end of the 
bay, and camped here. The town of Union, now 
called Areata, was later founded on that spot. The 
next day being Christmas, the men roasted an elk's 
head for a feast. On December 26 they followed 
an Indian trail through the wood, back of where 
Eureka is now situated, and stopped at the place 
where Bucksport was later located. It was named 
after Buck, the discoverer of the bay. 

During this trying journey of exploration the men 
had many quarrels. They were many times near 
starvation, and exhausted both physically and men- 
tally. One serious quarrel occurred on the bank of 
a river, and the river is still called Mad River In 
memory of the trouble. 

When it became necessary to decide upon a future 
course of action, the men disagreed so seriously that 
they divided into two parties. One determined to 



190 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

go south by way of the coast to San Francisco and 
the other decided to foUow the course of the Eel 
River. The river was named from the fact that 
they obtained eels from the Indians there, the nearly 
starving- men trading beads and small bits of iron 
for the eels the Indians had caught. 

Seabring, Buck, Wilson and Wood were those who 
continued their journey down the Eel River; Dr. 
Gregg, Van Duzen, Southard and Truesdell went 
south by way of the coast. 

The first named, or Eel River party, went through 
the most terrible sufferings they had yet experienced. 
The blinding snow soon hid all trails and landmarks, 
and blocked up in great heaps in their way. They 
were hemmed in by snow for five days, and had they 
not been fortunate enough to kill a small deer they 
would have starved. When the flesh was gone they 
had to boil the hide, drink the water in which it 
had been cooked and chew the skin. They saw many 
grizzly bears, and one day, seeing eight of them to- 
gether, determined to attack them. Wood almost los- 
ing his life. He shot and wounded a bear, which 
fell as though dead. As he began to reload his rifie, 
the bear rushed at him and hurt him badly. Be- 
fore he could recover from this onslaught, another 
bear rushed at him and bore him to the ground. 
When he lay quiet, the animals sat and watched 
him as a cat watches a mouse, but when he moved 
they again attacked him. At last the bears tired of 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 191 

the game and left. One bear was dead and Wood's 
hip was dislocated, his shoulders and body badly torn. 

The men made camp and cared for Wood, who 
grew rapidly worse. His illness delayed the other 
men and they became impatient after some ten days 
of nursing. At last they discussed among themselves 
the practicability of leaving W^ood to his doom. 
Guessing of what they were talking, Wood begged 
the men to either get an Indian chief from a nearby 
camp to care for him, or kill him, as he could not 
stay there and die knowing that death was approach- 
ing- without human aid or comfort. The three men 
asked the Indian chief to care for Wood. He agreed 
to do this if they would give him many beads and 
trinkets. The white men gave to the chief all their 
trinkets and all of their personal belongings they 
could afford to give away. These the chief took 
and then left camp without Wood. 

Determined that he should not be left to die. Wood 
persuaded the men to tie him to a horse and let him 
travel with them. In spite of the terrible pain and 
weakness that he suffered, Wood survived the trip 
until the party, after ten days of travel down the 
Russian River, turned southwards towards Sonoma. 
Here they came to a farm, and Mrs. West, the own- 
er, nursed Wood until he was able to join his friends 
in San Francisco. 

The men who attempted to go south to San Fran- 
cisco by way of the coast had so difficult a time that 



192 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

they abandoned their course and instead went by 
way of the Sacramento Valley. Their ammunition 
gave out and they went hungry for days. Dr. Gregg, 
the brave old man who had so faithfully piloted the 
party and was its leader at the start, fell from his 
horse one day, dead of starvation. His companions 
dug a hole with sticks and buried his body in a grave 
covered with stones so the wild animals could not 
molest it. A few days later, after the arrival of the 
Eel River party, they too arrived in Sonoma and 
went on to San Francisco. Because of their pitiable 
condition, the plans of the explorers for building a 
town on Humboldt Bay had to be abandoned. 

Associations were later formed for the purpose of 
exploration in the northern part of California, and 
in search of a route perhaps from the ocean up some 
river to reach the mining camps in the wilds of Trin- 
ity and Siskiyou. The Laura Virginia Association 
was one of those formed with the purpose of divert- 
ing the extensive trade from the inland route, which 
was expensive, and to discover a landing place from 
the sea. It was on one of these trips that the Klam- 
ath River was discovered. 

The ship Laura Virginia on April 14, 1850, sailed 
into Humboldt Bay. The harbor and a city these men 
founded were named in honor of Baron Von Hum- 
boldt, a distinguished Prussian naturalist. Hum- 
boldt City flourished while it was a trading center 
for the mines, but the advantage of a nearer route, 
and an Indian trail from the head of the bay being 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 193 

impractical without costly improvements, settled the 
rivalry that had arisen shortly after the springing 
into being of Eureka and Union (Areata). Hum- 
boldt City was short lived. Eureka was located the 
same month, April, 1850, that Humboldt City was 
founded. Trinidad, first called Warnerville, was lo- 
cated at Trinidad Harbor. 

Humboldt County was formed May 12, 1853, and 
in 1856 the county seat was fixed at Eureka by the 
legislature. As early as 1854 shipbuilding was be- 
gun there, and a steamer, the Glide, sailed between 
Areata and Eureka. 



194 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 




CALIFORNIA HISTORY 195 

CHAPTER XXII 
WILLIAM LEWIS MANLY 

PROJECT — THE DISCOVERY OF DEATH VAL- 
LEY, 1850. 

Topics — Following Old Trails. The Desperate Condi- 
tion of the Manly Party. Through Death Valley. The 
Arrival at San Fernando Mission. 

Crossing the mountains and plains in the early 
days to California called for courage and a distinct 
heroism on the part of all who took the trip. Not 
only was there danger of Indian attacks, of wild 
animals, of getting lost, but the task of carrying 
enough food and water to sustain life on the jour- 
ney was no mean one. Crossing the great deserts 
of the west was the greatest trial of all. We hear 
stories of leaders of great courage, but one of the 
most interesting stories of a brave, self-sacrificing 
leader on one of these journeys is that of William 
Lewis Manly, the hero of Death Valley. 

Manly was born in Vermont in 1820. He was 
full of life and the desire for adventure. When still 
a very young man he left his home with seven 
dollars in his pocket and went on pioneering expe- 
ditions through Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin. 



196 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

It was natural that the call of California should 
be felt strongly by a man of Manly's type. In 1848 
and 1849 the lure of the gold rush to California 
could no longer be resisted, and Manly set out as 
a driver for Charles Dallas, a pioneer bound for 
the west. 

The old Oregon route was followed until the party 
came to the Green River. There the men found a 
small sand-filled ferry boat. This river suggested 
the thought that the trip might be completed by boat, 
for surely the river flowed to the Pacific Ocean. 
Manly, reasoning thus, with six other men, deter- 
mined to travel by water. They mended the boat and 
began their trip. The river grew more and more 
rough as the water rushed madly on to the Colorado. 
The canons were deep and narrow and dangerous, 
and finally the men had to desert the boat and make 
canoes. Meeting a friendly group of Indians, Manly 
was told by them that if he did not give up his trip 
by water it would lead to his death. The men fol- 
lowed the Indians' advice and went overland to Salt 
Lake. There they met the party of Asabel Bennett 
and joined his emigrant train, which consisted of 
one hundred and seven wagons and about five hun- 
dred horses. The party pursued their way to the 
south, hoping to reach Los Angeles. 

But what horrors this southern route, which was 
not well mapped out, meant to this party! They lost 
their way and decided to go directly west. Climb- 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 197 

ing the mountains, they looked out across a low 
valley which stretched at their feet for many miles. 
It was gray, desolate, without growth, without wa- 
ter. The hills and mountains beyond were sharp 
and weather worn and utterly without vegetation. 
This was Death Valley, later given this suggestive 
name because of those who perished there in 1850. 
The valley was more than one hundred feet below 
sea level. It was an appalling sight for the emigrants. 

Water and provisions were giving out. Children 
were crying for food and water. In order to live it 
was necessary to kill the oxen, one by one, and drink 
their blood and eat their flesh. 

So desperate did conditions become that it was de- 
cided that some of the party had better go ahead 
on the trail in search of food and a place to settle. 
The emigrants were to halt by a spring and there 
wait ten days for the return of the men. Manly and 
John Rogers, the two strongest and hardiest of the 
young men, were chosen to make the search. They 
left the Bennetts with their three children, the J. B. 
Arcanes and their son, two Erhart brothers and 
a son, Captain Culverwell and three others whose 
names we do not know. 

So terrible was this exploring trip the young men 
made, that had the dangers and trials and suffer- 
ing in store for them been known, it is doubtful if 
a human being could deliberately have left on such a 
journey; but the sufferings they left behind them 



198 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

were so sad, and so great was the need of the men, 
women and children that, casting all thoughts of 
themselves aside, these two men went forth into the 
desert with stout hearts. For days they pushed 
onward in an agony of thirst and hunger. The lack 
of food and water so exhausted them that it was 
only by superhuman effort they pushed on. 

Days of suffering brought their reward. The men 
crossed the valley and mountains and came to a 
beautiful valley with singing birds and running 
brooks. Their joy and relief were be3^ond expression. 
Here they met a Mr. French, who helped to supply 
them with provisions for their return trip. Some 
horses and a mule were secured to carry supplies, 
and they were ready to return to their friends. 

The ten days had more than passed. Perhaps the 
people were dead by now! Perhaps the Indians 
had killed them! Perhaps they had given up ex- 
pecting relief and had wandered on and it would be 
impossible to find them! These were the thoughts 
that presented themselves to the men as a tempta- 
tion not to take the hazardous return trip. Never- 
theless they bravely retraced their steps. 

The return trip with provisions, while perilous, 
was somewhat easier, as the men had food and wa- 
ter, but the trail was dangerous and the trip most 
difficult over the sandy wastes and steep mountains. 

Nearing the camp the relief party were filled with 
gloom upon finding the dead body of Captain Cul- 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



199 




200 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

verwell. They knew not what to expect next. They 
fired their gun as an announcement of their arrival. 
What a reunion followed! All except Captain Cul- 
verwell were at the camp; and with refreshed bod- 
ies and minds, and strong in courage with Rogers 
and Manly to guide them, the emigrants once more 
started on their way. 

Again the oxen had to be killed for meat, but in 
nineteen days they came to the brook which had first 
gladdened Manly's heart, and from there they went 
on to the San Fernando Mission. They were now 
near their goal, Los Angeles. 

The entire trip from Wisconsin had taken a year 
and they were still six hundred miles from the gold 
fields. For four months the party had wandered at 
random, searching for the short cut to Los Angeles^ 
but now all danger was passed. 

Manly lived until 1901 to tell his story of Death 
Valley, and he has left us the tale in book form. He 
is a splendid type of the courageous pioneers who 
came to California in the early days. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 201 



CHAPTER XXIII 
CALIFORNIA ADMITTED TO THE UNION 

PROJECT — CALIFORNIA'S ADMISSION TO THE 
UNION OF STATES, SEPTEMBER 9, 1850. 

Topics — The American Flag in California. The Mili- 
tary Surrender of CaUfornia. The Government of Cal- 
ifornia Under Military Rule. The First Legislature in 
California. The Adoption of the New Constitution. 
The Problem of Slavery. President Fillmore Signs 
the Bill. 

CALIFORNIA 

She was not born a babe to suckle strength; 
A woman, gazing down her land's broad length, 
Stepped from the pines out on the fall-brown grass. 
The grizzly bear stood back to let her pass, 
And Fremont's cannon thundered wide and far — 
Old Glory's azure had another star!— Madge Morris. 

In 1846 the American flag was raised at Sonoma, 
at Sutter's Fort and at the plaza in Yerba Buena, 
which was a settlement by the Golden Gate where 
San Francisco now is located. There was satisfaction 
expressed in many places in California upon the 
American occupation, for it promised protection to 
persons and property. 



202 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

Military forces of Californians in the south made 
headquarters in Los Angeles and made several at- 
tempts at resisting American occupation. These 
were frustrated when Fremont arrived in the south. 
Before having the opportunity of meeting the op- 
posing forces, an armistice was proclaimed and at 
the Rancho de Cahuenga on January 13, 1847, the 
Californians surrendered to Fremont and returned 
peaceably to their homes, agreeing to follow the 
laws and regulations of the United States. 

In 1848 our country won the war with Mexico. 
"The Republic of Mexico was now a conquered na- 
tion and might have been added to our domain; but 
the victors were content to retain Upper California 
and New Mexico — the region from the Rio Grande 
to the Pacific, and from the Gila River to Oregon. 
For this great territory we paid Mexico $15,000,000 
and in addition paid some $3,500,000 of claims our 
citizens had against her for injury to their persons 
and property." 

The discovery of gold in 1848 began the big rush 
westward. Many emigrants came by sea, but the 
majority came overland, and at the end of 1849 it 
is estimated that some seventy-seven thousand peo- 
ple had come to California and that the white pop- 
ulation numbered one hundred thousand. 

Under the rule of the United States, Stephen W. 
Kearny was the first governor of California. Mon- 
terey was retained as the seat of government. Col- 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



203 




MONTeHEY i?a» 




SACRAMENTO, 183S tSM. 





SAN JOSE 1S48 t95t 



BENiCIA, tSS3 )8S4 





SACRAMENTO. taSa !S«9 



The State of California in the first few years of its existence had 
five capitals. The first was located at Monterey, 1849. It was at San 
Jose 1849 to 1851. At Vallejo 1851-52. At Sacramento 1852-53. At Be- 
nicia 1853-54. At Sacramento 1854 to present time. There have been 
several unsuccessful attempts to remove the seat of government from 
Sacramento. 



204 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



onel Richard B. Mason commenced his administra- 
tion as governor of Cahfornia on May 31, 1847. 
His position, Hke that of Kearny, was that of ''com- 
mander of the United States mihtary forces and civil 
governor of the territory in possession of the United 
States as a belHgerent." Following Mason, General 
Bennet Riley was given charge of civil affairs on 
April 13, 1849, by President Polk. 

But this government was not really satisfactory. 
The hordes of people who had rushed to California 
from almost every part of the world when gold was 
discovered, and the larger number of Americans, 
felt the need of law and order. The people desired 
to join the Union and California to be a part of 
the United States. 

Congress was very slow in settling the govern- 
ment of its new territory, for 
it was harassed with the ques- 
tion of slavery. Unable to en- 
dure existing conditions and 
wishing lawful protection of 
their property, the wish of the 
people was acceded to by Riley, 
who called a convention at 
Monterey for the purpose of 
The Seal of California drawinsf Up a Constitution. The 

was designed by Major . 

Robert Seiden Gamett, meeting opened in Colton Hall 

and was adopted in 1849 c 4- u -? io/in vu 

by the Constitutional On September 3, 1849, With 

M^erey." "^^''^ """' ^' delegates from different parts 




CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



205 




The first theatre building in CaH- 
fornia at Monterey 



of the state present. Laws for California were deter- 
mined upon; it was provided that slavery should not 
exist in the state and the boundaries were settled. The 

covention closed on Oc- 
tober 13. Thousands of 
copies of the constitu- 
tion were printed in 
both Spanish and Eng- 
lish and distributed 
throughout the state. 

The election was call- 
ed for November 13. 
Peter H. Burnett was chosen the first governor of Cali- 
fornia by vote of the people under the United States 
government. The first legislature under the consti- 
tution met at San Jose on December 15, when Bur- 
nett took the oath of office. After that there were 
the civil and criminal codes to study and the first 
legislature had a large amount of labor and a great 
responsibility to assume. 

Meanwhile serious debates were being held in 
Washington as to admitting California as a state. 
Slavery was the question of paramount importance, 
and as California was opposed to slavery the north 
was willing to admit her to the Union, while the 
south, approving of slavery, was against it. Such 
men as Daniel Webster, John C. Calhoun and Henry 
Clay made notable arguments for and against the 
admission of California to the Union. 



206 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

The California bill finally was sent to President 
Fillmore, and on September 9, 1850, he signed it. 
California was now a state, the thirty-first to enter 
the Union, and we annually celebrate Admission Day 
on September 9. 

The news of California's admission was brought 
to the state by way of the Golden Gate, when the 
Oregon sailed into port with the glad news. It 
spread rapidly and Governor Burnett himself rode 
to San Jose in a fast stage and announced the glad 
news to the populace. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 207 



CHAPTER XXIV 
GOVERNORS UNDER AMERICAN RULE 

PROJECT — THE POLITICAL GROWTH OF CALI- 
FORNIA, 1846-1922. 

Topics — The Governor Under Military Rule. The First 
Governor of California. The Governor During the War 
Period. The Governor Under the New Constitution. 
The Progressive Period of Government Under Hiram 
Johnson. Current Political Events. 

The first military governor of California was John 
D. Sloat, who served from July 7 to July 29, 1846, 
when Robert F. Stockton became the governor and 
served until January 19, 1847; it was then John C. 
Fremont was named by Stockton as acting governor. 
He served for several months, until Stephen W. 
Kearny was given the appointment. On May 31, 
1847, Richard B. Mason was appointed, serving un- 
til February 28, 1849, when Persifer F. Smith be- 
came governor. He served a little over a month, 
v/hen he was succeeded by Bennet Riley. He con- 
tinued in office until the constitution was adopted. 
These rapid changes in government were due to the 
fact that the war with Mexico made it necessary 



208 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

for the military governors to change locations fre- 
quently and to leave some one in their place to rep- 
resent the Washington government. Richard B. 
Mason was the only one of the military governors 
who served more than one year. 

After the adoption of the constitution, Peter H. 
Burnett became the governor of the state of Califor- 
nia on December 20, 1849. He was in every way 
worthy of the great honor; a man of integrity and 
of vigorous intellect. He resigned January 8, 1851, 
and was appointed supreme judge of the state by 
Governor J. Neely Johnson, January 13, 1857. 

The salary of our first governor was $10,000 a 
year. It was afterwards changed by various legis- 
latures until the constitution of 1879 fixed the sal- 
ary at $6,000. 

The next in line were John McDougall, John Big- 
ler, John Neely Johnson, John B. Weller, Milton S. 
Latham, John G. Downey, and then we come to our 
great war governor, Leland Stanford, who served 
from January 10, 1862, to December 10, 1863. Le- 
land Stanford was one of the great builders of the 
west and was honored by not only being elected gov- 
ernor, but afterwards served the state as U. S. Sen- 
ator. He was succeeded in office by Frederick F. Low, 
who was elected by the Union party, and during the 
serious crisis of the latter part of the Civil War was 
noted for his devotion to duty and for his fine qual- 
ities of citizenship. He also served his state in Con- 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 209 

gress, dying in San Francisco in 1894. He was suc- 
ceeded by Henry H. Haight, and the next in line 
was Newton Booth, the celebrated orator, who was 
afterwards elected United States Senator. Lieuten- 
ant Governor Romualdo Pacheco filled out his un- 
expired term and was succeeded by William Irwin. 

The new constitution of California was adopted in 
1879. This constitution was brought about through 
the agitation of Dennis Kearney, whose oratory 
against the Chinese gave him the popular name of 
''the sand-lot orator." The constitution was adopted 
and went into effect with the inauguration of George 
C. Perkins, January 8, 1880. 

The new constitution was in many respects a re- 
markable document. It had so many provisions that 
it was almost a code of laws rather than a consti- 
tution. It has been amended man)^ times, espeoially 
since the law was passed providing for amendments 
by initiative measures. 

Governor Perkins deserves special mention. He 
was one of California's most popular governors. 
Coming to California as a poor sailor boy, he located 
for a time at Oroville in the grocery business, and 
afterwards was one of the principal owners of the 
Pacific Coast Steamship Company. He was noted 
as a patron of art, literature and music, and was 
instrumental in giving both inspiration and stimula- 
tion to young California writers. He was elected 
United States Senator and served three terms. 



210 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



George Stoneman, Washington Bartlett, Robert 
Waterman, H. H. Markham, James H. Budd, Henry 
T. Gage, George C. Pardee, each served a term 
of four years successively, and then came James N. 
Gillett, who was the last governor under the party 
convention plan. During his administration public 
sentiment grew until there became an insistent de- 
mand for greater social service in administrative 
affairs. His administration was characterized by 
legislation providing for an $18,000,000 bond issue, 
inaugurating the good roads movement which has 

resulted in our mag- 
nificent highways, and 
other measures that 
have been of great ben- 
efit to the public. 

With the inaugura- 
tion of Hiram Johnson, 
who became the leader 
of the Progressives in 
1910, the state of Cali- 
fornia adopted a series 
of constitutional amend- 
ments that have had a 
marked influence upon 
the destiny of the state. 
First in importance was 
the adoption of woman's 




Hiram W. Johnson 



suffrage. This was the 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 211 

culmination of the leadership of Clara ShortridgeFoltz, 
who had with eloquent voice and virile pen worked 
for more than twenty years that women might have 
an equal voice and equal opportunity with men in 
all public affairs. The creation of the Railroad Com- 
mission, with great constitutional powers, giving it 
the right to regulate all public utilities; the Indus- 
trial Accident Commission; the State Board of Con- 
trol; Highway Commission; the Water Commission; 
the Teachers' Pension Law; Civil Service Commis- 
sion, and other legislation affecting the social wel- 
fare of the people. 

Governor Johnson was re-elected, and during his 
second term the people elected him U. S. Senator. 
In 1920 he was one of the outstanding candidates 
for the Republican nomination for the presidency of 
the United States. Senator Johnson was born in 
Sacramento in 1866. His fighting personality and 
aggressive and progressive policies appeal strongly 
to the people. His father is the Hon. Grove L. John- 
son, who represented his district in Congress and who 
served in the legislature of the state for many terms. 
Succeeding Johnson as Governor was William D. 
Stephens, former Congressman from California. 

The present junior Senator from California is 
Samuel M. Shortridge, who is a true type of the 
possibilities of American citizenship. Born in 1861, 
a graduate of the San Jose high school, a teacher 
in the public schools, a day laborer in the mines, a 



212 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



lawyer and orator, and finally attaining by the vote 
of the people the United States senatorship. 

At the age of twenty-five he announced his ambi- 
tion to represent the state of California in the Con- 
gress of the United States. He per- 
sistently held to this ambition, gave 
of his service freely to the people, and 
on November 6, 1920, he was elected 
to his present oftice. Senator Short- 
ridge's career from boyhood to the 
full realization of his ambition and 
high ideal should have a strong ap- 
peal to the boys and girls of the younger generation. 




V^.^ 



Samuel M. 
Shortridge 




Present Capitol Building, Sacramento. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 213 



CHAPTER XXV 
EDUCATION 

PROJECT — THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM, 1850 
TO 1922. 

Topics — The First Public School. John Swett. Con- 
structive Education. Education Under the New Con- 
stitution. Educational Developments Under Edward 
Hyatt. The University of CaHfornia. The Stanford 
University. The Constructive Period of Education Un- 
der the Leadership of Will C. Wood. 

The public and private schools of California have 
been a potent factor in its historical development. 
The foundation for the educational structure began 
with the teaching of vocational and other subjects 
to the natives by the Franciscan fathers. Whenever 
the Americans later made a settlement they also pro- 
vided for churches and school houses, so as early as 
April 8, 1850, John C. Pelton secured the adoption 
of an ordinance, by the Common Council of San 
Francisco, making his private school the first public 
school. In September, 1851, the city of San Fran- 
cisco was provided with a city board of education 
and a city school superintendent. The constitution 



214 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



of the state adopted at the convention held in Sep- 
tember, 1849, provided for a state superintendent of 
pubHc instruction; for a system of common schools 
requiring that in each school district a public school 
should be maintained for at least three months each 
year. The constitution also provided that the lands 
granted by act of Congress for the support of schools 
and the 500,000 acres granted to the new state for 
the purpose of internal improvements should be ap- 
propriated for the use of the common schools and 
under no condition should ever be diverted. 

Our public school system grew gradually until 
John Swett became state superintendent of public 
instruction. In his campaign he took the question 
of education directly to the people and he appealed 
for a better financial support of the 
schools and for a state-wide system. 
He was elected, and during his term 
of office placed upon the statute books 
of California those laws which have 
made the state of California famous 
for its educational system. 

In 1865 and 1866 he secured the 
adoption of a state school tax of 
half a mill on the dollar and also 
an increase of county and district tax. He succeeded 
in securing these laws by presenting a series of al- 
most endless petitions. It was the entering wedge 
that has led to the liberal support of the public school 




John Swett, 

the pioneer 

educational 

leader. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 215 

system. In 1864 and 1865 the state school tax yield- 
ed $55,000; in 1921 it yielded $7,160,703.42 for 
elementary schools, and for secondary schools $1,- 
081,467.53. For the current biennium 1921-22 the 
amount appropriated is $46,189,666. 

The work of John Swett will always remain a 
rich heritage to the citizenship of California. 

The first normal school was established in San 
Francisco and afterwards moved to San Jose. The 
second, in Los Angeles, and others in succession 
were established until there are institutions for the 
training of teachers at San Jose, San Francisco, Los 
Angeles, Chico, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Fresno 
and Areata. In the legislature of 1921 these insti- 
tutions were changed to teachers' colleges, offering 
greater educational opportunities to students. 

The adoption of the new constitution in 1879 cre- 
ated many educational changes. Hon. Fred M. Camp- 
bell of Oakland was elected superintendent of public 
instruction, and served during the period when there 
was much constructive legislation, and to his vis- 
ion and ability the public school system is greatly 
indebted. 

In 1906 Edward Hyatt was elected superintendent 
of public instruction, and during his twelve years of 
public service the standard of certification of teach- 
ers was raised. The county free library system was 
started under the direction of the state librarian, J. L. 
Gillis, and May Dexter Henshall, and the influence of 



216 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



the state library in educational affairs, which had been 
practically dormant from the time Fremont presented 
a hundred books in 1850 to the legislature as a begin- 
ning of the state library until Mr. Gillis emphasized 
''service" as the chief purpose of any library. There 
were many new high schools organized and an act 
providing for free high school textbooks. There 
were also educational changes, including the re- 
organization of the state board of education. There 
was adopted a constitutional amendment providing 
for a state board of education consisting of seven lay 
members and a commissioner of secondary schools; 
and one from elementary schools ; and also provid- 




The new building of the California State Library, Sacramento, 
California, the center of California's great library service. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



217 




218 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

ing for state supervision along the lines of vocational 
education, home economics and other subjects. Mr. 
Hyatt during his twelve years' service made a dis- 
tinct impression on the public school system by his 
strong individuality. He loved the out-of-doors and 
his ''little talks" before children's and teachers' gath- 
erings were like a breath of fresh air in the routine 
of school work. 

In January, 1918, Will C. Wood, who had been 
the commissioner of secondary education, was inau- 
gurated as superintendent of public instruction. The 
name of Will C. Wood will be linked with that of 
John Swett as an outstanding educational leader. 
Wood is a constructive leader. Amendment 16,* 
the King Bill, the Junior College, the Junior High 
School, the State Teachers' College, are representa- 
tive of his legislative program. He has, by simple 
and direct methods, sold education direct to the peo- 
ple as an essential need of the commonwealth. 

The California constitution of 1849 provided for 
the establishment of a university. It was not, how- 
ever, until 1869 that the University of California 
was established. During the first twenty years of 
statehood the Methodists established the College of 
the Pacific at San Jose, the Catholics the Santa Clara 
College at Santa Clara, and the Presbyterians and 



* Amendment 16 is a constitutional amendment by an initiative 
petition that was placed upon the ballot in 1920. The amendment 
provid-es adequate salaries for rural teachers. It is an epoch- 
making law for the public schools of the State. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 219 

Congregationalists the Contra Costa Academy and 
the College of California on April 13, 1855, in Oak- 
land. In 1869 the state of California acquired the 
holdings of the College of California, and it became 
a state institution governed by a board of regents. 
In 1873 the University was moved to Berkeley. 
The institution during 1869-70 had forty students 
and a faculty of ten. In 1879 and 1880 the attend- 
ance reached 528, and in 1892 to 1018. Then the 
establishment of high schools and the 
close co-ordination of the department 
of education of the University with 
the public schools and the accredited 
system led to a remarkable growth in 
attendance, until it has become one of 
Benjamin ide the greatest universities in the coun- 
Wheeier. ^j.^^ There were 10,796 students regis- 
tered in the University in 1920-21, with a faculty 
of 594 members. The total attendance, including the 
Affiliated Colleges and the Summer Session, brought 
the attendance up to 18,830. The University Ex- 
tension Division taught 15,479 by ._ 
class instruction, 4,033 by correspond- 
ence, 190,000 by lectures, and 452,000 
by visual instruction. The total money 
spent from the period of 1869 to 1872 
was $283, 720.33. The funds provid- 
ed for the maintenance of the Uni- 
versity in 1921 were $8,334,073. Of Joseph Le Conte 





220 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

the latter amount $1,000,000 was for the support of 
the University of CaHfornia Southern Branch at Los 
Angeles. 

The University has had such famous men in its 
faculty as E. R. Sill, Joseph Le Conte, Dean D. Gil- 
man, Dr. Howison, Bernard Moses, Henry Morse 
Stephens and Benjamin Ide Wheeler.''' 

David P. Barrows, who became its president in 
1919, is noted for his scholarship and his organizing 

® ability. He is a product of the public 
school, a post-graduate of the Uni- 
versity, a student of economic and 
political affairs. 
Stanford University, located at Palo 
Alto, was endowed by Leland Stan- 
David Star ^^^^ ^^ ^ memorial to his son Leland 
Jordan. Stanford, Jr. The endowment amounts 
to over $20,000,000. Dr. David Starr Jordan, noted 
as an author and a scientist, was the founder of 
the educational standards and its president from 1890 
to 1910. He brought to the University the ablest 
and brightest minds in the country. He was suc- 
ceeded by President Branner, who in turn was suc- 



* Presidents of the University: John Le Conte, acting president, 
1869-70; Henry Durant, 1870-72; Daniel C. Oilman, 1872-75; John 
Le Cont-e, acting president, 1875-76; John Le Conte, 1876-81; W. 
T. Reid, 1881-85; Martin Kellogg, chairman academic council, 
1885; Edward S. Holden, 1885-88; John Le Conte, acting presi- 
dent, 1888; Horace Davis, 1888-90; Martin Kellogg, 1890-93; Mar- 
tin Kellogg, 1893-99; Benjamin Ide Wheeler, 1899-1919; David P. 
Barrows, 1919. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



221 




222 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

ceeded by Dr. Ray Wilbur, a graduate of the in- 
stitution. 

The main buildings with their mission architecture 
present a pleasing and harmonious group and keep 
alive the historic Spanish background. The church 
with its wonderful mosaics appeals to the thousands 
of tourists who visit the University. Indeed, the 
university which Stanford endowed gave to the world 
a number of men and women of national importance, 
and among them was Herbert Hoover, a man who 
was able, because of the education which he received 
there, to not only save a nation from starvation dur- 
ing the late war, but who was also able to return 
to his own country and direct the attention of the 
people to the matter of conservation and of supply- 
ing our Allies and their dependent wives and the 
children of the soldiers who were fighting for de- 
mocracy, with food and clothing. 

The University of Santa Clara, located on the site 
of the old mission, forty-eight miles south of San 
Francisco, is one of the well known educational in- 
stitutions of the state and numbers among its grad- 
uates some of our most noted citizens. It was, found- 
ed in 1851. 

Among the other noted institutions are the Uni- 
versity of Southern California, Occidental College, 
Pomona College, Pacific College, Mills College, Poly- 
technic School, besides many parochial, Protestant 
and non-sectarian. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 223 



CHAPTER XXVI 
LITERATURE OF CALIFORNIA 

PROJECT— THE STUDY OF CALIFORNIA IN LIT- 
ERATURE, ART AND MUSIC, 1852-1922. 

Topics — Mark Twain, the Humorist. Bret Harte, the 
Editor of the Overland, Poet and Short Story Writer. 
Joaquin Miller, the Poet of the Sierras. Ina Coolbrith, 
Poet Laureate. Charles Warren Stoddard, Ambrose 
Bierce, Madge Morris Wagner, George Wharton James, 
William Keith, and others. 

California has a wonderful literary heritage, and 

from her historical background stand forth many 

^...^ writers of national and world-wide 

Sfame. Among her younger writers 
are many, already well known within 
; her borders, destined to attain wide 
recognition. There is inspiration in 
the beauty of California's mountains ; 
in the color of her valleys and the 
Mark Twain. ever changing loveliness of her thou- 
sand miles of shore. 

California's literary historian, Ella Sterling Mighels, 
says in her ''Literary California" that a Califor- 



224 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

nia writer is one who is born here or one who 
is re-born here, and much of the reaUy virile Hter- 
ature of the nation has come from the pens of those 
who have been, for a longer or a shorter period, 
identified with California. 

The first literary productions which may justly 
be claimed for California are of course those writ- 
ings of the padres which tell, as does Father Palou's 
life of Serra, of the struggles and triumphs of these 
brave missionaries. These are preserved to us in 
the original records in several of the old missions. 

There was, however, little of real note prior to the 
American occupation of California. Perhaps the 
earliest literary production from American hands was 
"The Calif ornian," first issued at Monterey on Au- 
gust 15, 1846. Walter Colton, then alcalde of Mon- 
terey, was the owner, editor and printer of this early 
weekly, and largely responsible for its contents, al- 
though Robert Semple was a some-time partner in 
the business. Colton was also the author of several 
books which contain many interesting incidents of 
those stirring days. 

The first journal of real literary value was the 
''Golden Era," which commenced publication 'in San 
Francisco in 1852, and in its columns appeared many 
of the earlier writers. Newspapers which had strong 
influence upon the events of the early days sprung 
up in many of the mining camps. Some of these 
communities have long since disappeared, and with 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 225 

them the newspapers which carried the chronicles 
of their doings. Other newspapers, estabhshed in 
the days of the early pioneers, such as the Sacra- 
mento ''Union," the ''Bulletin," the ''Call," and the 
"Chronicle," of San Francisco, are still in existence. 
In the columns of these papers, and in others such 
as the "Herald" of San Diego, and the "Enterprise" 
of Virginia City, appeared poems, sketches and oc- 
casional stories well worthy of preservation. Many 
of these were unsigned, and we can only wonder to 
what unknown literary genius they owed their being. 

Among the books published in the early days by 
California writers were many notable for their lit- 
erary style and the fine quality of their subject mat- 
ter, and it is to these early chronicles that we owe 
much of our knowledge of the events of the times. 

First among California writers are placed the three 
who attained world-wide fame, Samuel L. Clemens, 
better known as Mark Twain; Bret Harte, and our 
"Poet of the Sierras," Joaquin Miller. The first two 
of these were identified with California for a short 
time only, but it was here that they first had recog- 
nition and it was here that they had their inspiration 
for the stories which gained for them wider fame. 

Mark Twain, most famous of the three, was born 
in Florida, Missouri, in 1835, dying in Hartford, 
Connecticut, in 1910. His experiences in the early 
mining camps he has told in one of his books, "Rough- 
ing It." He was not a miner, but worked as reporter 



226 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

and editor on various newspapers of the camps, as 
well as in San Francisco. It was for one of the San 
Francisco papers, the "Alta California," that he made 
the trip on the steamer Quaker City to the Mediter- 
ranean and the Holy Land in 1867. His w^eekly let- 
ters, setting forth his experiences on this trip, were 
printed in the Alta every Sunday, and served as the 
foundation for his first famous book, "The Innocents 
Abroad." Charles Henry Webb, another of Cali- 
fornia's early writers, had in that same year pub- 
lished Mark Twain's first book, ''The Celebrated 
Jumping Frog of Calaveras." 

Identified with this same period of California's 
literary history, and also with much the same terri- 
tory in the state, was Francis Bret Harte. He w^as 
born in Albany, New York, February 
25, 1836, and died in England on May 
5, 1902, the first of California's famous 
trio to pass. He came of English- 
lewish ancestrv. His father was a 
highly educated man, an instructor in 
FrandTBret Greek, and Bret Harte received splen- 
Harte. ^^^ educational training. Coming to 

California in 1854, he spent some time in the growing- 
city of San Francisco. He was for a time in 1856 
a tutor in the San Ramon Yalley, later going to the 
region of the "Southern Mines," in Tuolumne and 
Calaveras Counties. At Tuttletown, in Calaveras 
County, he taught school for a time in 1856 and 




CALIFORNIA HISTORY 227 

1857, and it was in this section that he laid the 
scenes of so many of his later stories. 

After serving for a time as editor of a paper in 
Humboldt Comity, Bret Harte returned to San Fran- 
cisco and in 1860 began the writing of poems and 
stories for the "Golden Era." He joined in 1864 
the staff of the ''Alta California," and two years later 
was dramatic editor of the "Morning Call." In July 
of 1868, the Overland Monthly, a magazine which is 
still published, was started by the firm of A. Roman 
& Co., and to Harte was given the editorship. His 
stories of the mining camps, "Tennessee's Partner," 
"M'liss," "The Outcasts of Poker Flat," "The Luck 
of Roaring Camp," and others, brought fame to 
Bret Harte and wide literary recognition to the 
Overland Monthly. 

A few years later, in 1871, Harte left San Fran- 
cisco for the east, and about 1880 went on to Eng- 
land, where he made his permanent home. His sto- 
ries and poems brought added fame to California, 
but they do not truly portray the life of the mining 
camps of the day, and it is to other writers we must 
go for the history of the Argonauts. His poem 
"Concepcion de Arguello" is, however, based on his- 
toric fact, and is included among the most beau- 
tiful of his poetic works. Other poems of beauty and 
value are "Dickens in Camp" and "The Angelus." 

Best loved of the three, in California at least, is 
our own Cincinnatus Heine Miller, more widely 




228 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

known as "Jo^^^'^ii^" Miller, the poet who has car- 
ried the beauty and the spirit of the Golden Gate 
to every country the world over. Born in Indiana 
in 1841 and dying February 7, 1913, Joaquin Miller 
was closely identified with California during most 
of his life. He took part in some of the stirring in- 
cidents of her early history as a state. 
Much of the poetry and prose which 
he considered worthy of preservation 
was produced in California. His home 
was California, and few men have so 
greatly loved her. 

Joaquin's autobiog'raphy tells of his 

Joaquin MiUer. t i i • t r .\, 

boyhood m Indiana and the experi- 
ences of the pioneer family in the woods of what was 
then a wilderness. He tells of the family's emigration 
to Oregon, where his father settled and where Joaquin 
for a time lived. Boys quickly became men in those 
days, and when he was only fifteen he left home for the 
life of the mining camps in the region of Mt. Shasta. 
Here he had many thrilling experiences with the rough 
men of the camps and with the Indians. He took 
an active part in one of the campaigns against the 
Indians, and at the famous battle of Castle Crags 
was severely wounded, his neck being pierced by 
an arrow. 

Recovering from the wound, he returned to Ore- 
gon. At Canon City he ran a newspaper, was one 
of the riders of the Pony Express, and was also a 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 229 

judge of the local court. It was his desire to be a 
judge of the Supreme Court of Oregon, but family 
troubles — he had in the meantime married — caused 
him to give up all connection with Oregon. He took 
ship from Portland and arrived in San Francisco dur- 
ing the period when Bret Harte, Charles Warren 
Stoddard, Ina Coolbrith and other writers of the 
time were establishing California's place in literature. 

Unlike the other writers, Joaquin was unable to 
gain wide recognition here. His poetry did not con- 
form to established standards and, stung by the rid- 
icule of those who could not see its beauty, Joaquin 
in 1871 left for London. After much difficulty in 
finding a publisher, he issued in London his "Songs 
of the Sierras.'' England gave him immediate rec- 
ognition and his place as a world poet was assured. 
Other books followed: ''Songs of Italy," "Isles of 
the Amazon," and others. 

Returning to America in 1879 with English hon- 
ors and possessed of moderate fortune, he met Ab- 
bie Leland and married for the second time. Spec- 
ulation in Wall Street dissipated his fortune. In the 
endeavor to regain wealth, Joaquin wrote the plays, 
'The Danites," " '49," and "Tally-Ho," which were 
well received. During Cleveland's first administra- 
tion, Joaquin lived in Washington, and the log cabin 
which he built for his residence there is still pre- 
served in Arlington Park as a memorial to Cali- 
fornia's poet. 



230 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 




This stone funeral pyre was built by Joaquin Miller and ac- 
cording to his request his ashes were scattered to the 
winds from this point. It is on the Rights over- 
looking the Golden Gate. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 231 

Urged by his California friends to return to the 
Pacific. Coast, he came back to San Francisco in 1884 
and shortly thereafter purchased the tract high up 
in the Oakland hills, to which he gave the name of 
"The Rights." He planted here a forest of cy- 
press and eucalyptus, built here the quaint home in 
which he lived and wrote. He built here, too, a 
house for his aged mother where from her rose-cov- 
ered porch she could see the growing city of Oak- 
land beneath the hills; with the blue bay beyond 
which rose the streets of San Francisco. 

He made here a gathering place for the younger 
writers, to whom he was an inspiration and a help. 
The little cottages among the trees were free for 
their use as long as they chose to remain. Yoni 
Noguchi, the Japanese poet, and many others who 
later attained recognition are debtors to his advice. 

Always active and a man of the out-of-doors, Joa- 
quin in 1897 and 1898, when nearly sixty years of 
age, endured the hardships of a trip to the Klondike. 
While here he tramped over four hundred miles along 
the edge of the Arctic on a relief expedition to a 
whaling fleet frozen in the ice of the northern sea. 
Two years later he visited the Orient, penetrating 
to the heart of China. Frequent lecture tours took 
him from The Hights, but in spite of his continual 
activities along other lines he found time to write 
much poetry which will live. 

Age did not mean with Joaquin Miller a failing 



232 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

of power. Much of his best poetic work was done 
during the last ten years of his Hfe. ''The Passing 
of Tennyson," ''Missouri," "Songs of Creation," 
"Love to You and Yours" — all are poems of strength 
and beauty. This period, too, produced his auto- 
biography, a prose epic which should be in the hands 
of every child. 

His often expressed desire that, when death came, 
it should strike him down so that he would fall to 
earth as falls the giant sequoia he loved so well, 
was not to be gratified. His last illness, high up 
in the hills which heard the naming of the Golden 
Gate, was a lingering one; and here came to him, 
after their many years in New York, the poet's wife 
and daughter Juanita to be with him for the little 
time before he died. 

The Hights is now one of Oakland's parks, and 
here are preserved the memories of Joaquin Miller 
in his forest, his trails and the monuments his hands 
erected upon the round hills. It is a worthy mem- 
orial to the most picturesque figure in the life of 
literary California. 

Included in the literary circle which held Bret 
Harte, Joaquin Miller, Charles Warren Stoddard, 
Ambrose Bierce, and other literary lights of the day, 
was Ina Donna Coolbrith. Miss Coolbrith is one 
of California's pioneers, coming to the western coast 
by way of Beckwith Pass with an emigrant train 
of the early 'SO's. Her verse appeared frequently in 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 233 

the columns of the old Overland Monthly during 
Bret Harte's editorship, and in other contemporary 
publications. Miss Coolbrith, poet laureate of Cali- 
fornia by act of our legislature, has in her own ex- 
perience seen more of the literary history of the state 
than any living writer. Her famous poem, ''When 
the Grass Shall Cover Me," will live and endure. 
Like Joaquin Miller and Edwin Markham, her work 
is growing in power with the years. 

From Oregon came to California another poet 
whose verse has gained for him international recog- 
nition, Edwin Markham, the author of 'The Man 
With the Hoe." Born in Oregon City on April 23, 
1852, Markham early came to California and lived 
for a time in the hills of Solano County. In a re- 
cent letter to a poet friend he says :"...! spent all 
my later boyhood among the hills of Solano. Among 
them is Laguna Valley, where my plain little home 
nestled at the foot of the green hills. I call these 
the Suisun Hills in a poem that appears in "The Shoes 
of Happiness." Markham later lived in San Jose, 
where the house, under direction of Henry Meade 
Bland and the admirers of the poet, is preserved as 
a permanent memorial in his honor. It was while 
he was principal of one of Oakland's schools that 
his poem, "The Man With the Hoe," written long 
before, suddenly brought him his deserved fame and 
recognition. Now living in New York, California 
still claims him as her own. Besides several vol- 



234 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

umes of poetry, he is the author of a prose volume, 
''Cahfornia the Wonderful." 

Among other poets whose work has carried Cali- 
fornia's fame abroad is Madge Morris Wagner, 
whose work has its own individuality and charm. 
A resident of California since childhood, she too has 
seen much of the growth of the state's literary treas- 
ure. Her early work was on the San Jose ''Mer- 
cury," the ''Golden Era," the "Argonaut," and other 
publications. She has published several volumes of 
verse and two of prose. Among her best known 
poems are, "Liberty Bell," "Colorado Desert," and 
"Lure of the Desert." Her "Liberty BeU" furnished 
the inspiration for the making of the new "Colum- 
bian Liberty Bell" of the Chicago world's fair in 
1893. Wm. O. McDowell, of Newark, N. J., saw 
a copy of the poem tacked up in Independence Hall, 
Philadelphia, beside the historic old bell of world- 
wide fame. Through his efforts, backed by the en- 
deavors of the Daughters of the Revolution and gov- 
ernors of the states, 250,000 relics and gifts were 
gathered and moulded into the new national bell. 
Chicago set apart July 4th, 1893, as Liberty Bell 
day, with Madge Morris Wagner and Wm. McDow- 
ell as guests, and gave them the freedom of the city. 

The list of California poets and prose writers 
might be extended almost indefinitely, especially if 
the list were to include contemporary writers, of 
whom there is an ever-growing number. Among 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



235 




the older writers are George Wharton James, who 
has written many excellent books pertaining to Cali- 
fornia, among them 'The Colorado Desert," ''Cali- 
fornia, the Wonderful," "Heroes of California," "In 
and Out of the Old Missions," "Indian Basketry," 
"Scraggles," "The Lake of the Sky," 
etc., etc.; Robert Louis Stevenson; 
Josiah Royce; Ambrose Bierce; E. 
Robeson Taylor; Gertrude Atherton; 
Mary Austin; Frank Norris; Jack 
London; John Muir; Henry George; 
Hubert Howe Bancroft; Charles F. 
Lummis. It is a notable list, and 
these are only a few of the names 
which might be added. 

Ella Sterling Mighels, who was 
born near Folsom, California, and 
cradled in a Gold Rocker by the 
miners, holds a unique place in California literature, 
as an author, compiler and literary historian. She 
has resided in London, New York and San Francisco. 
"The Story of the Files," "Literary California," "The 
Mountain Princess," and "The Full Glory of Dian- 
tha" are her most important works. The legislature 
in 1919 conferred upon her the title of "First Liter- 
ary Historian of California." 

Only a few of the contemporary writers may be 
named aside from those already mentioned. George 



John Muir, the 
discoverer of Pa- 
cific Coast glac- 
iers, and the most 
noted descriptive 
prose writer of 
CaUfornia's nat- 
ural scenery, es- 
pecially of the 
mountains. 



Sterling 



IS 



the 



strongest 



figure 



California 



236 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

poets of today. Fred Emerson Brooks, widely known 
as a poet-humorist and lecturer, is among the older 
writers but still contributing. Herbert Bashford, poet 
and playwright, whose book ''At the Shrine of Song" 
contains poems that for imagery and delineation of 
beauty are seldom surpassed. Charles Keeler is known 
as a writer of poetry for children. Harry Noyes 
Pratt is gaining recognition as a writer of lyrics. 
Grace Atherton Dennen, D. N. Lehmer, Henry Meade 
Bland, Ernest McGaffey, Neeta Marquis, Ben Field — 
the list of poets is long. 

And even longer is the list of prose writers. Kath- 
leen Norris, John McGroarty, Peter Kyne, Will 
Irwin — again it is a notable list, with constantly 
added names. California's romantic history is a 
rich source of material. Inspiration for the writer 
is in the very air. 

Nor is this inspiration given alone to the writer. 
Every art finds here a source of new life. Many 
of the greatest actors have had their early training 
in the theatres of San Francisco. Much of the finest 
in the art of painting has been produced here. Wil- 
liam Keith is identified with California, as is Thad 
Welch, Tom Hill, John Henry Breuer, Jules Taver- 
nier, T. Rosenthal, and many others. Music finds 
here its inspiration, and songs known the world over 
had their birth in California, for Carrie Jacobs Bond 
and other writers of songs and song lyrics make 
their home here. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 237 

Adolph Sutro, the founder of Sutro Heights, a 
great tree planter and the builder of Sutro Tunnel, 
deserves mention here on account of his interest in 
art, literature and music. 

Hon. James D. Phelan, a native son, mayor of San 
Francisco and U. S. Senator 1915 to 1921, has de- 
voted much of his fortune and time to the develop- 
ment of art, literature and music in California. He is 
the outstanding figure in the cultural value of the new 
west, not academic but inspirational. 

On the California coast, in the 
shadow of Carmel Mission, where 
sleeps the good Padre Serra, is a col- 
ony of artists and writers which has 
world fame and which in its turn is 
carrying the beauty of California to 
the world. And four hundred miles 
piSran, {hT^mo^t south, not far from the old Mission of 

outstanding figure s^n Tuan Capistrano, and overlook- 
in the cultural . *^ ^ ' 

values of the ing the anchorage of Dana's ship in 
'Two Years Before the Mast," is a 
similar colony, Laguna Beach. 

California literature has no boundary lines. The 
color, the atmosphere, the original angle may be the 
result of our mountains, our valleys, our sea, and the 
freedom that comes from the out of doors. The ap- 
peal of our writers, however, is to the heart and the 
intellect, and therefore our standards as illustrated by 
Bret Harte's ''Dickens in Camp,'' and Joaquin Mil- 




238 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



ler's "The Passing of Tennyson" are universal. Cali- 
fornia, on account of the climate, the history, the ro- 
mance, the freedom of the hills, the vastness of our 
deserts, the glory of the sundown seas, will always be 
an inspiration for creative literature. 




Glimpses of the Palace of Fine Arts. 

The building retained for a permanent art home; erected 

for the Exposition of 1915. 

Photos by Arthur F. Moore 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 239 



CHAPTER XXVII 
INDUSTRIAL WEALTH 

PROJECT — CALIFORNIA'S CONTRIBUTION TO 
THE COMMON WEALTH. 

Topics — Climate and Soil. Gold vs. the Orange and the 

Vine Fruit Industry, Cotton, Petroleum, Rice ; Men and 

Women in Times of War. 

Across the San Joaquin's broad reach of vines and waving wheat 
The old Sierras toss their gold at fair Los Angeles' feet. 
Soft sighs of pine and orange groves woo sea winds from the West 
And over all a spirit broods of romance and unrest. 

— Carrie Stevens Walter. 

We think of California as the land of gold, yet 
as compared to other products of the state this plays 
each year a smaller part. California's vineyards alone 
produced in 1920 a crop which exceeded by more 
than $10,000,000 the value of the gold produced in 
the banner year of 1852; and the mines that year 
of greatest production brought forth $81,294,700. 
The orange is in value as in color now the truly gol- 
den product of the state, for in 1921 California re- 
ceived for her oranges $61,257,344, with a mine pro- 
duction of gold amounting to only $15,704,822. In 
the seventy-two years from 1848 to 1920, Califor- 



240 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

nia's mines produced gold to the amount of $1,720,- 
218,101; an eight year period of average crops 
brings to the state more money than this. 

With her variety of cHmate and soil, California 
can and does grow almost every crop of the temper- 
ate and semi-tropical regions. Her cereal crops alone 
are enormous, and in one, barley, she has held first 
place in production since 1852. For many years Cal- 
ifornia held place as one of the great wheat grow- 
ing states, the yield in the year of greatest produc- 
tion, 1896, being over 54,000,000 bushels. With the 
increase in area of irrigated lands, cereal production 
decreases, for the land is then too valuable for grain 
growing, so in 1921 only 557,000 acres were planted 
to wheat, where in 1896 almost 4,000,000 acres were 
given to the crop. 

Wheat commenced its decline as California's great 
crop with the development of the fruit industry. 
When scientific methods of shipping made it possi- 
ble to place our fruits in eastern markets in good 
condition, the planting of trees and vines increased 
tremendously throughout the state. To A. T. Hatch, 
a pioneer in the industry, California owes much, for 
he studied and experimented, particularly in connec- 
tion with almonds, until he had originated new va- 
rieties. The almonds of California, valued in 1920 
at almost $2,000,000, are largely grown from trees 
of Hatch's varieties, originated near Suisun. To 
Luther Burbank, the wizard of Santa Rosa, Califor- 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 241 

nia owes an enormous debt, for it is largely through 
his work that many kinds of fruit have been brought 
to perfection, sufficiently hardy to stand the long trip 
to eastern markets and arrive in good condition. 
So each year has seen better fruit, better shipping 
conditions, and greater acreage planted. California's 
greatest crop, the grape, had its inception in the vines 
planted by the Franciscan fathers, some of which are 
still bearing at San Gabriel and Santa Barbara. By 
1858 there were 6,500 acres planted to vines; twenty 
years more increased the acreage to 30,000 acres, 
while the year 1921 showed a total of almost 300,000 
acres planted to raisin, table and wine grapes. 

In citrus fruits, peaches, pears, prunes, walnuts 
and almonds, California leads all the other states. 
She is also the leading vegetable producing state, 
ranking first in shipments of asparagus, celery, can- 
taloupes, lettuce, onions and spinach. The value in 
1921 of the potato crop of the state, the most impor- 
tant vegetable, was over $13,000,000. Only one 
state, Louisiana, leads California in the production 
of rice, and we have been growing rice commer- 
cially for only ten years. In 1921 there were 120,- 
000 acres, principally in Butte County, given to this 
crop and producing 5,880,000 bushels valued at $6,- 
762,000. 

Cotton is another crop of recent introduction, yet 
in 1920 there were 275,000 acres, principally in Im- 
perial, Riverside, Kern, Madera and Merced Coun- 



242 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

ties, growing cotton to the amount of 35,280,000 
pounds, valued at $6,350,000. The value of Califor- 
nia's total cotton crop of 1910 was only $11,744. 

The state is holding each year a place of greater 
importance as a source of manufactured products. 
With her great stores of raw materials, her vast 
amount of unutilized power and her proximity to 
the markets of the Orient, California's manufac- 
tured products will some time hold place with the 
product of her orchards and vineyards. 

The petroleum from the wells of the state plays a 
large part in the development of the commonwealth, 
for it is a great source of power. Wells have been 
sunk in almost every part of the state in search for 
the crude oil, but the production so far is confined 
almost entirely to the southern counties. New wells 
are being brought in and the production for 1921 
was 114,849,924 barrels, an increase over the pre- 
ceding year of 9,000,000 barrels. 

From the ocean waters and from the rivers of the 
state are taken immense quantities of fish of vari- 
ous kinds, the greater portion of which is canned and 
shipped to all parts of the world. In 1921 there were 
taken from California waters 118,517,992 pounds of 
sardines alone. Almost $8,000,000 was the value of 
the salmon pack of 1920, while tuna to the value of 
$5,000,000 is sent to the world's markets, and these 
represent only three varieties of fish from the many 
used. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 243 

In 1921 the valuation of California's fruit crop was 
$181,488,000; her field crops $162,202,000; while her 
mineral production — including petroleum, natural gas, 
brick, cement, salt, borax, etc. — was $244,856,910. 

Luther Burbank has contributed to the wealth of 
the world by his wonderful creations in fruit, flowers 
and various forms of plant life. He is located at 
Santa Rosa, and his gardens are visited by thou- 
sands of people each year. California has honored 
him by making his birthday, March 7, a legal holiday 
in the schools. 

There is another source of revenue that belongs to 
the common wealth to which California has contrib- 
uted generously. In 1861-65 California furnished 
men, women and money to the Union cause. Her loy- 
alty, patriotism and splendid service are deserving of 
highest praise. Governor Stanford and later Gov- 
ernor Low were strong leaders in upholding the ad- 
ministration of Abraham Lincoln. 

©Thomas Starr King, pastor of the 
First Unitarian church of San Fran- 
cisco 1860 to 1864. In four years he 
gave a tremendous uplift to California 
intellectual development. He toured 
the State delivering lectures in behalf 
of the Union, and when secession was 
Thomas Starr no longer a menace he devoted him- 

King, whose elo- . ^ ^ . . r ^u t t c 

quence helped Self to raismg money tor the U. b. 
for^hf Union"^^ Sanitary Commission, or Red Cross 



244 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

Work. California contributed one million five hun- 
dred thousand, or one-third of the total amount raised 
for such work during the war. He died March 4, 
1864, before reaching his fortieth year. 

In 1898-1900 California enlisted thousands of young 
men for the Spanish-American war. In view of the 
fact that soldiers and supplies were shipped to the 
Philippines via San Francisco, the State was the cen- 
ter of considerable war activity. Many of the young 
soldiers remained in the Philippines, and gave splen- 
did service in educational, governmental and commer- 
cial lines. 

In war against Germany and her allies, California 
again contributed in money, in men and women, and 
in food. No State in the Union responded more 
quickly or more completely than California to every 
call, whether for men, money or food. Camp Fre- 
mont at Menlo Park and Camp Kearny at San Diego 
became noted as centers of war activities. 

Our shipbuilding plants, our great food producing 
industries, our railroads, steamships and our mines 
were all placed at the government's disposal. The sol- 
diers who went across and fought at Argonne and 
elsewhere proved California soldiers had a loyalty 
and duty ''under fire" that stood the supreme test. 
The women in the Salvation Army, Red Cross serv- 
ice, at home and in army educational activities were 
imbued with the call to service. California's contribu- 
tion to the common wealth in gold, in grain, in fruit. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 245 

in oil, in education, in literature, in men and women 
is a rich, heritage to the men and women of tomorrow. 

CALIFORNIA 

Sown is the golden grain, planted the vines; 
Fall swift, O loving rain, lift prayers, O pines; 
O green land, O gold land, fair land by the sea, 
Th-e trust of thy children reposes in thee. 

—Lillian H. S. Bailey. 



246 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



CHAPTER XXVIII 
STEPHEN MALLORY WHITE 

PROJECT— A TYPICAL NATIVE SON. 

Topics — Education. Politics. U. S. Senator. Should the 
People or Corporations Control? The Port of Los An- 
geles. White's Challenge to the Children of California. 

Stephen Mallory White was born in San Fran- 
cisco, January 19, 1853, and died in Los Angeles, 
February 21, 1901. 

He grew to manhood in Santa Clara County and 
received his education in the public schools of that 
county, and in St. Ignatius College of San Francisco, 
and in Santa Clara College. He chose law as his 
profession. In November, 1874, he began the prac- 
tice of law in Los Angeles. His career as a lawyer 
was highly successful. In 1882 he was elected dis- 
trict attorney of Los Angeles County, and served for 
two years. In 1886 he was elected state senator and 
served for four years, from 1887 to 1891. Due to 
the death of Governor Washington Bartlett in 1887, 
Lieutenant Governor R. W. Waterman advanced to 
the governorship and president pro tem. Stephen M. 
White of the state senate of California advanced to 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



247 



the position of lieutenant governor. In 1890 Stephen 
M. White canvassed CaHfornia as a Democratic can- 
didate for United States Senator. He made a pro- 
found impression upon the people of California. 
Those who heard him and those who read his speeches 
recognized him not only as the ablest candidate, but 
also as a man who was ruled by convictions of right 
and not by ambition nor by love of money. The Re- 
publican party elected a majority of the legislature 




Monument to Stephen Mallory White, United States 
Senator 1893-1899. 



248 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

in 1890 and defeated Mr. White. This great cam- 
paign won him the United States senatorship in 1893, 
when the Democratic party secured control of the 
legislature. 

Stephen Mallory White was a great man. His 
natural abilities were of the highest order. His mind 
was keen, alert, incisive, and his power as an orator 
was unsurpassed. He loved work. No task was too 
small and no labor too great for him. In all his un- 
dertakings he was the master. He had high moral 
convictions. He loved the right because it was right ; 
he hated evil because it was evil. His devotion was 
to man and not to money. His mother was a noble 
woman who strove earnestly by precept and by ex- 
ample to instill into the minds and the lives of her 
children the noblest ideals of religion, of patriotism, 
of service, and of love for man. Her teachings found 
a ready and joyful response in the great heart and 
mind of her son Stephen Mallory. 

Senator White entered the United States Senate 
when the battle for a free harbor for Los Angeles 
was just beginning. The Southern Pacific Railway 
Company, under the control of Collis P. Huntington, 
had control of the ocean front at Santa Monica and 
had erected a great wharf in that bay and was de- 
termined that the United States government should 
improve Santa Monica Bay as the harbor for Los 
Angeles. The people of Southern California wished 
the United States to improve San Pedro Bay as the 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 249 

harbor for Los Angeles, because the government en- 
gineers considered it a better port than Santa Mon- 
ica, and because the harbor frontage was under gov- 
ernment control. The railroad made the fight for its 
harbor. It was a clear-cut issue— should the people 
or the railroad control the harbor? 

Senator White espoused the cause of the people. 
The wealth and power of a great corporation, di- 
rected by the master mind and dauntless will of Col- 
lis P. Huntington, and backed by all the corporate 
influences of America, were fighting for control of 
the transportation facilities of Southern California 
forever. Senator White threw himself into that fight 
with all the energy and ability that he possessed. 
He battled not merely against a selfish corporation, 
but also against great men in high places, who cared 
more for money than for right. Southern California 
supported Senator White, but not unanimously. Rail- 
road influence and selfish ambition mustered a con- 
siderable following and made a determined fight for 
the railroad's harbor at Santa Monica. The Los An- 
geles Times, then the only great newspaper in South- 
ern California, was steadfast in its support of the 
free harbor and of Senator White's great fight. Slow- 
ly, step by step, the battle was won. Congress ap- 
propriated millions of dollars for a great breakwater 
at San Pedro, and the development of Port Los An- 
geles, under the control of the people, began. The 
railroad abandoned its port at Santa Monica and 



250 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

finally removed its great wharf. In 1898 the Re- 
publican party regained control of the legislature of 
California and replaced Senator White with a Repub- 
lican Senator. President McKinley said to Senator 
White, "while I'm glad that California has gone Re- 
publican, I shall be very sorry to lose you." 

President McKinley's expression of regard for Sen- 
ator White found a pleased response in the minds of 
all who knew the Senator. 

Senator White was a vigorous fighter, but he 
fought fairly and always retained the respect of his 
opponents. Collis P. Huntington said to him, ''White, 
I like and respect you ; you are almost always against 
me; but it is not for what you can make out of us, 
to come over. You have a steadfast principle and 
you fight like a man, in the open and with clean weap- 
ons. I cannot say this of all the public men I have 
had to deal with." 

Senator White's last speech in the Senate of the 
United States contains these words, 'T experience 
natural pride in my presence here, but I would will- 
ingly sacrifice that honor rather than yield my ma- 
turely formed judgment to any senseless clamor, to 
threats or flattery, to condemnation or applause." 
Those were brave words, bravely spoken, as he step- 
ped down from the seats of the mighty to walk again, 
for a little while, the common way with common folks, 
whose interests he had guarded with unsullied fidelity 
and signal success. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 251 

Death claimed Stephen Mallory White all too soon, 
for he was in the prime of life when disease came 
and silenced his golden voice. His fellow citizens 
reared a bronze monument to his memory on the 
west front of the courthouse grounds at Los Angeles. 
There he stands with hand raised as though chal- 
lenging all the children of California to noble ambi- 
tion, high endeavor, tireless effort, grand achieve- 
ment, and loyalty to high ideals and supreme self- 
respect. 



252 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



CHAPTER XXIX 
TRANSPORTATION 

PROJECT— THE STORY OF BUILDING THE FIRST 
TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD, 1855 - 1922. 

Topics — Prairie Schooner vs. Railroad and Boat. Cali- 
fornia's First Railroad. Theodore Judah, the Man with 
a Keen Vision. His Work at Washington. Hunting- 
ton, Crocker, Stanford and Hopkins. Stanford and the 
University. The Control of the Pacific. 

In the early days of our state, people coming from 
the east were obliged to travel by boat on the long 
and hazardous voyage around Cape Horn or had to 
take the chance of contracting fever on the unpleas- 
ant trip across the Isthmus of Panama, where tfie 
chance of getting a ship to California was sometimes 
doubtful. If they did not wish to go by water they 
had to make the long, tiresome and dangerous jour- 
ney on the ''prairie schooner" drawn by oxen and 
traversing unknown regions where climatic condi- 
tions, Indians and hardships of the wilderness made 
the way so unsafe that it was necessary for large 
parties to travel together. The demand also for a 
rapid mail service grew insistent. Mail at first came 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



253 



about once a month, via Panama, then stage Hnes 
were operated from the Missouri river to Sacramento 
and were paid Hberally by the government for serv- 
ice. But even this 
was too slow to 
meet the demand 
of the pioneers for 
mail, and the pony 
express was start- 
ed in April, 1860, 
to carry letters 
from St. Joseph, 
Missouri, to San 
Francisco. Sixty 
riders were em- 
ployed. Each rider 
was expected to 
cover seventy-five 
miles and to carry 
two hundred let- 
ters. Postage was 
five dollars for 
each half ounce. 

This pony ex- 




Theodore Judah, the builder of the first 

railroad in California and the man 

with the vision. 



press was continued until October, 1861, when the 
telegraph lines were completed. The pony express 
gave a notable service in carrying Lincoln's inaug- 
ural address to California in five days and seventeen 
hours. Because of these conditions the early set- 



254 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

tiers in California decided that it would be necessary 
to have railroad communication with the east, and 
so every one of influence besought those in the old 
homes to use whatever persuasion they could upon 
Congress to provide and construct a railroad from 
the Atlantic to the Pacific Coast. 

Indeed, the idea of the Pacific Railroad was not 
new because we find from the Congressional Records 
that in 1835 the plan was presented of building a 
road from some Missouri River point to the Puget 
Sound and later the same plan was broached for 
building to the Columbia River. 

On February 7, 1849, U. S. Senator Thomas H. 
Benton, father-in-law of our famous pathfinder, John 
C. Fremont, introduced in the Senate a bill providing 
for a Central National road to be built from St Louis 
to San Francisco. The government in this act was 
to donate a strip of land the entire distance, 100 feet 
wide, and on this right-of-way iron rails were to be 
laid if possible, and where rails could not be laid, a 
macadam roadw^ay was to be built. This bill failed 
to pass. 

On August 4, 1852, Congress passed an act grant- 
ing a right-of-way 100 feet wide over any public land 
of the United States from a Missouri River point to 
the Pacific Ocean to any company which would build 
a railroad, plank road or macadamized turnpike, then, 
or within ten years thereafter chartered. This, how- 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 255 

ever, did not help the people of California, for no 
one took any notice of the act in this state. 

On February 22, 1856, the first railroad in Cali- 
fornia was formally started. It was called the Sac- 
ramento Valley Railroad and ran from Sacramento 
to Folsom, a distance of thirty-two miles. This road 
was never of any great importance in the state his- 
tory except for one fact : the man who was employed 
to serve as the chief engineer in its construction was 
a young man named Theodore D. Judah of Bridge- 
port, Connecticut. 

Mr. Judah was empowered with the authority of 
purchasing supplies in the east and transporting them 
to California. He commenced the construction of 
his road early in 1855. While working on this road 
he conceived the idea of constructing a transconti- 
nental line. On every occasion possible he took ex- 
cursions into the mountains toward the eastern part 
of the state, and being a man of keen vision and won- 
derful foresight, he pictured to himself the tunnels 
which he would build, the lines of railroad which he 
could construct, and the vast possibilities incident to 
the entrance of a railroad into California. The one 
handicap which he suffered was the lack of money. 

While working in Sacramento he met four young 
men who were in business in that growing center of 
population; they were Collis P. Huntington and 
Mark Hopkins, who had come to California in 1849 
and had entered the hardware business; Charles 



256 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

Crocker, who came in 1850 and owned a dry goods 
store, and Leland Stanford, who came in 1852, and 
was then engaged in the grocery business. Mr. Judah 
imbued them with his idea that a railroad would be 
a wonderful thing not only for the state of Califor- 
nia, but also for those who should build it. They 
were practical business men and caught his vision. 
Mr. Judah was sent to Washington and there en- 
listed the aid of Congress. 

He was successful in being appointed secretary of 
the Senate Committee on the Pacific Railroad. This 
gave him the right to be in the committee room at 
all times and also gave him the privilege of handling 
the reports concerning railroads and of appearing on 
the floor of the Senate during debates. Not only did 
he secure this appointment, but he also became clerk 
of the same committee in the House of Representa- 
tives, and as clerk of the committee drafted the bill 
which became a law. 

This act, which was known as the Pacific Railroad 
Bill, gave large grants of land to any company which 
would construct a railroad; it also. provided that the 
government would give a large sum of money to the 
constructors for each mile of railroad built; this 
money would help provide for the next mile of road, 
and so the government was virtually building the 
road for those who were willing to give their time 
and energy in its construction. 

This bill was passed on June 24, 1862; on July 1, 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 257 

1862, President Lincoln signed it and it became a 
law. Mr. Judah then returned to California and be- 
gan his surveys. He made several, but the present 
route of the Central Pacific Railroad was finally 
selected. 

In 1863 he returned to the east, and while there 
contracted an illness from which he died on Novem- 
ber 2. He was only Z7 years of age, but he had 
accomplished more than many people accomplish in 
life-times which extend far beyond the age he 
reached. Mr. Judah's work was taken up by S. S. 
Montague, who was chief engineer of the railroad 
for many years. 

The work of financing the railroad was largely by 
the four men who became interested after hearing 
Mr. Judah's plans. Collis P. Huntington became the 
active financier of the railroad and was responsible 
largely for securing the money necessary for its com- 
pletion. Mr. Huntington lived to be an old man. He 
was prominent in the affairs of the state until his 
death. 

Charles Crocker, who took over the active road 
building of the Central Pacific, was on the ground 
practically all the time directing the work of his 
coolies, for the right-of-way was largely prepared by 
Chinese labor. He developed into one of the keenest 
railroad men that this country has ever produced. 
Mr. Crocker lived in this state to a ripe old age and 
was very charitably inclined. He gave money freely 



258 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



to many institutions for dependent people and was a 
man universally loved and respected in California. 
Mark Hopkins gave largely of his means for the 

promotion of art in Cal- 
ifornia. He endowed 
the Hopkins Institute 
of Art and left many 
paintings as well as the 
building in which the 
art institute was housed 
to the school which now 
l)ears his name, and 
many years later the 
fortune which Mr. Hop- 
kins left to his wife 
came as a bequest to 
the University of Cal- 
ifornia. 

Leland Stanford be- 
came the war governor 
of California. He also 
served his country as a 
Senator and died while 
serving in that capac- 
ity. Mr. and Mrs. Stan- 
ford lost their only son, 
Leland Stanford, Junior, who died while they were 
travelling in Europe. Before the son's death. Sen- 
ator Stanford promised the young man that he would 




This plate may be seen at Front 

and K streets, Sacramento, 

California. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 259 

endow a university where young men might receive 
an education. On their return to America Senator 
and Mrs. Stanford began to plan for the erection of 
Stanford University, which is located at the old Stan- 
ford home at Palo Alto, California. 

All of the organizers of the railroad, excepting 
Mr. Judah, gained great wealth, but they largely gave 
it back to the people from whence it came. There 
has been criticism as to the manner in which they 
made the large amounts which they secured in the 
construction of the railroad, but that has been wiped 
out by time and by the disposition which they made 
of their fortunes. 

The building of the Santa Fe Railroad to Los An- 
geles, San Diego and San Francisco; the Western 
Pacific from Ogden to San Francisco via the Feather 
River Canyon; the Salt Lake line; the San Diego 
Railroad from Yuma, followed the completion of the 
Southern and Central Pacific. The development of 
electric train service since 1909, and transportation by 
sea, including the completion of the Panama Canal at 
an expense of $365,148,000 in August, 1914, are all 
events of great interest, and with such transporta- 
tion by land and sea will give California ports control 
of the Pacific. 



260 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



CHAPTER XXX 

IMPERIAL VALLEY* 

PROJECT — THE DEVELOPMENT OF A DESERT 
COUNTY BY IRRIGATION. 

Topics — The U. S. Government's Storage Dam. The 
Rapid Growth of a Desert County Under New Condi- 
tions. A Land of Desert Wastes Until 1890, Now a 
Land of Peace and Plenty. 

The Imperial Valley, once known as the Colorado 
Desert is really the delta of the great river. The 
Colorado is more than 1700 miles long. Its water- 
shed embraces Western Colorado, Southern Wyom- 
ing, Eastern Utah and Western Arizona. This is 
a region lying more than a mile above the sea and 
having mountain ranges, many of whose peaks are 
more than two miles high. This elevated region 
receives much rain and vast quantities of snow in 
the winter season, and loses its snow in late May, 
June and early July. 

A great flood heavily laden with mud descends 



* Read Joaquin Miller's "Ship in the Desert" and Theodore Van 
Dyke's "The Desert", or George Wharton James' book, "The Col- 
orado Desert"; also Madge Morris Wagner's poem, "The Colo- 
rado Desert". 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



261 




Brawley main canal supplying a large portion of 
Imperial Valley. 

rapidly from the Rocky Mountains to the Imperial 
Valley. This flood has rushed down the watershed 
of the Colorado through uncounted centuries and 
has made it a wonderland of carved hills, sculptured 
mountains and stupendous canyons. The Colorado 
courses its way through the deepest and grandest 
of the canyons. 

Although more than a half million acres of land 
are irrigated in the Imperial Valley from the Colo- 
rado, yet not half its water is used and all its power 
is wasted. The United States government is begin- 
ning the construction of a great storage dam in Boul- 
der Canyon. When this is completed 1,250,000 acres 



262 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

can be irrigated and 600,000 horsepower of electrical 
energy can be generated. Other great dams may be 
erected further up the river. If all possible use is 
made of the river, it will irrigate more than 2,000,000 
acres and will generate fully 6,000,000 horsepower of 
electric energy. 

The Imperial Valley began to attract serious at- 
tention after the Southern Pacific Railway was com- 
pleted from Los Angeles to New Orleans. That road 
crosses the valley from Banning to Yuma and has 
a branch line running south from Niland to Calexico 
and thence to Yuma. The main line as originally 
built crossed the bed of a dry lake for nearly twenty 
miles. This lake bed was over 280 feet below sea level 
at its lowest point. The spring flood of the Colo- 
rado partly filled the lake in 1891, and it was named 
the Salton Sea. The source of the water was so 
great a mystery that Major H. W. Patton, a daring 
young reporter, hired a small boat and an Indian 
guide at Yuma and floated down the Colorado, on 
the crest of the spring flood, in search of the an- 
swer. Two weeks later he arrived at Old Beach on 
the shore of the Salton Sea, having proved that the 
Salton Sea was being filled from the river and not 
from the ocean. With the passing of the spring flood 
evaporation emptied the lake in less than five years. 

After the completion of the railway across the val- 
ley, a few daring men, the pick of the sons of that 
superb race who have led the march of civilization 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 263 

from Plymouth Rock and Jamestown to the Pacific 
shore, entered the valley and began the great fight 
against heat and drought. In June, 1901, they turned 
the waters of the Colorado into their first system of 
irrigating canals. In 1922 a splendid group of peo- 
ple met at Brawley and celebrated the twenty-first 
anniversary of that great event. 

In 1905 there was a mighty flood in the Colorado 
River, and the river seized the irrigation system 
which had been developed rapidly and imperfectly. 
The flood swept down the canals and thence into an 
ancient channel known as New River and poured into 
Salton Sea in a thundering torrent. Soon the sea 
was a great body of water. It covered the salt works 
and flooded the railway line for miles. With each 
passing day, the situation grew more menacing. The 
river ceased its flow to the Gulf of California and 
poured into Salton Sea. It began to cut a wide, deep 
channel from the Salton Sea back toward the Colo- 
rado. This channel advanced up stream a full half 
mile a day. It required little imagination to see that 
if not stopped it would cut back to the river and up 
the river for many miles, thus giving a new and deep 
channel through which the river would flow until in 
the course of many years the valley was filled to sea 
level, and then perhaps the river would flow again 
to the gulf. 

The river must be turned in a few weeks or the 
ruin of the valley would be complete. 



264 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

The settlers were not rich enough to do the work 
because it would require millions of dollars' worth 
of work quickly done. The settlers appealed to Presi- 
dent Roosevelt and Congress. President Roosevelt, 
who was always equal to any emergency, found that 
Congress could not or would not act quickly. He ap- 
pealed to the Southern Pacific Railway Company, 
which had the most to lose if the river were not 
turned. 

President E. H. Harriman of the Southern Pacific 
Railway Company directed Colonel Epes Randolph, 
a railroad builder noted for his ability and courage, 
to turn the river, and put the entire resources of the 
company at his command. 

Colonel Randolph began the effort at once. It was 
a time for haste. Colonel Randolph built a railroad 
to the break in the levee and called to his aid every 
flat car from El Paso to Bakersfield. Then materials 
and machinery were assembled with incredible speed. 
Great piledrivers began to drive piles to put a bridge 
across the stream. The soil was sandy and the whirl- 
ing torrent would loosen the pile and send it racing 
toward the Salton Sea as soon as the driving ceased. 
Defeat seemed certain, when Colonel Randolph solved 
the problem by having great mats of willows woven 
on flat boats above the break. The willow mats were 
pinned to the bottom of the stream with great piles 
and weighted down with huge rocks. The foliage 
of the willows served as a trap for the sand and the 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 265 

piles stood. Railroad tracks were built across the 
flood and everything was made ready for the effort 
to turn the river. The great effort was set for a 
moonlight night because of the oppressive heat by day. 
At sundown of the fateful night the fight began. 
For hours the voices of men, the puffing of engines, 
the steady roll of trains, and the sounds of falling 
rock plunging into the torrent filled the night, and 
then another note was heard. The river began to 
growl as though angry that puny man should dare 
dispute its dominion over the valley. A new and 
most terrifying danger arose. The whole mass of 
the dam began to move down stream. The move- 
ment, while not rapid, was perceptible. Colonel Ran- 
dolph was appealed to, and answered, ''Dump more 
rock. Dump it faster." Efforts were speeded to the 
utmost and in a little while the trembling dam stood 
still, and a row of rock appeared above the water. 
The angry growl of the river ceased and its mighty 
flood turned again into its ancient channel and flowed 
toward the gulf. In a single night the river was 
turned and the greatest bloodless battle in human 
history was won. 

The development of the valley has been rapid. In 
1922, 70,000 people were living there and its crops 
were worth more than $70,000,000. Each year the 
spring flood of the Colorado menaces the valley and 
will continue to do so until the Boulder Canyon Dam 
conquers the river. 



266 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 




CALIFORNIA HISTORY 267 



CHAPTER XXXI 

CONSERVATION 

PROJECT— THE NATIONAL AND STATE PARKS 
AND FORESTS OF CALIFORNIA. 

Topics — Government Forest Work. National Parks. State 
Parks. Air Service. 

Government forest work had its beginning in the 
United States in 1876, with the appointment by the 
Department of Agricuhure of a special agent to study 
several forest conditions in the United States. In 
1881 a Division of Forestry was created in the de- 
partment, which by 1901 became the Bureau of For- 
estry, and finally in 1905 the Forest Service was es- 
tablished. In the year 1922 nearly $7,000,000 was 
appropriated by the United States government for 
forest work. 

Today the forest work of the Government is mainly 
centered in the Forest Service, which in addition to 
administering and protecting the National Forests, 
studies a great number of general forest problems and 
diffuses information regarding forestry. 

The great waste of the forest lands in the United 
States caused Congress in 1891 to authorize the Pres- 



268 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

ident to set aside forest reserves, as National Forests 
were for nine years called. In 1897 a new act pro- 
viding for organization and management of reserves 
was passed, placing them under the Secretary of the 
Interior. The American National Forest system 
dates from the passage of that Act. 

Besides National Forests the Government has set 
apart public domains as National Parks, which are 
managed by the National Park service. 

In 1890 in California the following National Parks 
were formed: Sequoia National Park, 252 square 
miles; the Big Tree National Park, with 10,000 
Sequoia trees over ten feet in diameter, some 25 to 
35 feet in diameter, situated among towering moun- 
tain ranges, startling precipices and caves of consid- 
erable size; Yosemite National Park, 1125 square 
miles, a valley of world famed beauty, lofty cliffs, 
romantic vistas, waterfalls of extraordinary height 
and three groves of big trees; General Grant Na- 
tional Park, four square miles, created to preserve the 
celebrated General Grant tree, 35 feet in diameter. 
In 1916 the Lassen Volcanic National Park, 124 
square miles, was formed in which Lassen Peak, 
10,465 feet high, the only active volcano in the United 
States proper, is situated. Mud geysers, hot springs 
and the Cinder Cone, 6899 feet high, are important 
features. 

In addition to these five National Parks in Cali- 
fornia there are seventeen National Forests named 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 269 

as follows: Angeles, California, Cleveland, El Do- 
rado, Inyo, Klamath, Lassen, Modoc, Mono, Plumas, 
Santa Barbara, Sequoia, Shasta, Sierra, Stanislaus, 
Tahoe and Trinity. 

Before the National Forests were formed the red- 
wood forests of California had passed into private 
hands. In order to preserve a portion of the redwood 
forests for the benefit of posterity, the state of Cali- 
fornia purchased from private owners a tract of red- 
wood in Santa Cruz County known as the Big Basin. 
This is managed by a commission appointed by the 
Governor. 

The Muir Woods, a small but very wonderful red- 
wood forest on the southern slope of Mount Tamal- 
pais, was donated to the nation as a national monu- 
ment by Mr. William Kent. Neither of these tracts 
is a national forest, although the latter is owned by 
the Government. They are managed solely wath the 
view of preserving and developing their scenic fea- 
tures. 

The National Parks and Forests are managed for 
the benefit of the state and nation. 

Cattlemen are allowed to send in cattle, lumbermen 
are allowed to cut timber, and campers are allowed to 
throng the forests. The National Park Service and 
Forest Service regulate the forests and see to preven- 
tion of fires, attend stocking of streams with fish and 
fighting of plant diseases. 

The California State Board of Forestry created by 



270 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

Act of Legislature in 1899 has done much to ''Save 
the Redwoods." It also furnishes trees free of 
charge for highways and has a tree specialist in 
charge of the work. In 1921 $300,000 was appropri- 
ated for the purchase of virgin redwoods in Hum- 
boldt and Mendocino counties. More than 2000 acres 
have already been purchased. Aeroplanes are now 
used successfully by the United States Forest Service 
in detecting and conquering forest fires, and millions 
of dollars worth of timber has been saved. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 271 

CHAPTER XXXII 
CITIES WITH HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 

PROJECT— THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND 
GROWTH OF SOME OF OUR LEADING CITIES. 

Topics — San Francisco, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego, 
Sacramento, Berkeley, Long Beach, Pasadena, Fresno, 
Stockton, San Jose, Santa Barbara. 

The city of San Francisco was founded by Anza 
in 1770. It was first named Yerba Buena. It con- 
sisted for many years of a presidio near where Fort 
Scott now stands, and the Mission Dolores, and a 
few scattering Indian settlements. Located on the 
harbor of San Francisco, its importance even in these 
early days was recognized. Father Font said of it: 
''The port of San Francisco is a marvel of nature and 
may be called the port of ports." In 1837 it con- 
sisted of a tent of the harbor master and traders' 
house and store on the edge of a cove. At the Mis- 
sion Dolores there were at various times from a 
few hundred to a thousand neophytes. Occasionally 
a vessel entered the harbor and the arrival of a ves- 
sel up to 1848 was considered a great event by the 
few inhabitants. 

Washington A. Bartlett, the first alcalde, was a 



272 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



. ,_ POWELL 



. . ,. ,, "ir ~lr aBr -ol (5a, 

"ii « j|-.r 11 .= ;; .r jl „ || „ || „ I 

-- 'I 1 L-^i-.aiLsJL^'L JL Si / 

--I 1 . STOCKTON ' *— ' 's^oT^t' ' =1 .li- 




^ ^^\'lnnl w ^^^"£^s^° i" 1848, showing the condi- 
tions before what was called the Yerba 
Buena Cove was filled in. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



273 




The Golden Gate and San Francisco in 1854. 

lieutenant on a naval vessel in port at the time of 
the passing of the Mexican regime. In January, 1847. 
he arbitrarily changed the name of Yerba Buena 
to San Francisco. Bartlett leaving with his vessel, 
George Hyde was for a short time alcalde, being 
superceded by Edwin Bryant, appointed by General 
Kearny. After Bryant, Hyde was again alcalde and 
was followed by Dr. J. Townsend, and he by Dr. 
T. M. Leavenworth. The last alcalde and the first 
mayor under the new charter was Col. J. W. Geary. 
All of the above had streets named after them, 
and J. W. Geary, after whom Geary street was 
named, went back to his native Pennsylvania and 
became governor of that state. 



274 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 




CALIFORNIA HISTORY 275 

The discovery of gold brought to San Francisco 
a large number of undesirable people, and the new 
conditions in the rapidly growing city brought about 
a reign of terror. Such government as then ex- 
isted not functioning properly, a vigilance com- 
mittee was organized in 1851. This committee exe- 
cuted four men and compelled a large number to 
leave the city. In 1856 another reign of terror was 
started and William T. Coleman, a man of great 
courage and leadership, formed a second committee 
for law and order. James King, editor of the Bul- 
letin, was shot by a man named Casey in 1856. King 
had been writing editorials for good government. 
The vigilance committee, with William T. Coleman 
as leader, hung Casey and drove 800 men out of the 
city. At one time the committee had enrolled a force 
of 6000 citizens. 

When gold was discovered in 1848, San Francisco 
had 850 inhabitants. The discovery of gold brought 
to Yerba Buena the gold-seekers from around the 
Horn, across the Isthmus of Panama and the over- 
land trails. The city then began to grow rapidly. 
In 1850 it was a substantial looking city with hotels, 
substantial houses, hospitals, and a mercantile library. 
In 1850 the city was incorporated under the name of 
San Francisco. It was consolidated as a city and 
county in 1856 and was incorporated under a free- 
holders charter in 1899. 



276 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

San Francisco has been a victim of several great 
fires. 

On December 4, 1849, the city was burned with 
an estimated loss of $1,000,000. On May 4, 1850, 
there was another destructive fire, destroying $4,- 
000,000, and a year later another fire, destroying 
$12,000,000. April 18, 1906, was the date of the 
San Francisco fire and earthquake. The earthquake 
affected an area of 450 miles in length and 50 miles 
in width at many points. Buildings on 2593 acres, 
over four square miles, were destroyed by fire in the 
down town business and residential section of the city. 
Four hundred and fifty people lost their lives. The 
loss of property was over $350,000,000 and there 
were over 28,188 buildings destroyed. Although 
250,000 people were made homeless, the city was 
not discouraged. The lines of Bret Harte in refer- 
ring to San Francisco proved true: 

Serene, indifferent of Fate, 

Thou sittest at the Western Gate; 

Upon thy height, so lately won, 
Still slant the banners of the sun; 

Thou seest the white seas strike their tents, 
O Warder of two Continents! 

Since 1906 everything has been new in San Fran- 
cisco. New homes, new business blocks, new schools, 
new churches, and new public service utilities. The 
city of San Francisco has been unique in its growth. 
From 1848 to 1870 it was the great commercial cen- 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



277 




Yerba Buena (now San Francisco) in the spring of 1837. 

ter of the western states for the supphes to the gold 
fields. Portland grew in importance and took away 
her northern trade. Los Angeles developed and took 
away her southern trade. Seattle grew and took 
away part of her Oriental and Alaskan trade, but 
San Francisco, "serene and indifferent", has main- 
tained its commercial leadership of the western world. 
Among its most attractive features is Golden 
Gate Park, which was established in 1870. The 
city has changed the sand dunes and made them one 
of the most attractive places in the city. This has 
been followed up with an excellent system of parks 
and playgrounds in various parts of the city. Many 
of its principal streets are named after Spanish and 
American pioneers. The city has built and operates 



278 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 




CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



279 



a number of municipal car lines. It has appropriated 
$40,000,000 for bringing water to the city from the 
Hetch-Hetchy V^alley. This is under the direction 
of the city engineer, M. M. O'Shaughnessy. Under 
the present administration of James Rolph, Jr., there 
is maintained an excellent public school system; a 
department of health, maintaining a city and county 




This is a picture of San Francisco's beautiful City Hall in the 
Civic Center, erected after the fire of 1906 



280 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 




Along old trails in Tuolumne. The city of San Francisco has 
constructed the great Hetch Hetchy aqueduct 

hospital, which is one of the finest sociahzed institu- 
tions of its kind in the country. 

In 1915 the city of San Francisco celebrated the 
opening of the Panama Canal with the Panama Pa- 
cific International Exposition. It was opened Feb- 
ruary 20, 1915, and closed December 4, 1915. It 
covered 635 acres of ground on the shore of San 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



281 




282 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

Francisco Bay known as Harbor View. There were 
80,000 exhibitors and it surpassed all other exposi- 
tions in its unity of motive, in architecture, color 
scheme and statuary, courts and fountains. The ex- 
position was held under the leadership of Charles C. 
Moore, the president of the Panama Pacific Interna- 
tional Exposition Company. San Francisco received 
as a permanent benefit from the exposition the Ex- 
position Auditorium in the Civic Center, and its great 
$50,000 pipe organ. The Civic Center of San Fran- 
cisco provides for an attractive grouping of the City 
Hall, the Auditorium, the Public Library, the State 
of California building and others. 

LOS ANGELES 

The founding of Los Angeles was the direct re- 
sult of the missionary labors of Father Junipero 
Serra, and the exploration of Don Caspar de Portola. 
The city was founded on September 4, 1781, by 
eleven families from Sinaloa in Old Mexico, who 
came with Anza, under direction of Governor Neve. 
It was located on the west bank of the Los Angeles 
River, twenty-six miles north of San Pedro Bay, fif- 
teen miles east of the ocean at its nearest point, and at 
the spot where the lines of land travel crossed nat- 
urally. The plaza or center of the city was that 
piece of ground bounded now by Bellevue, High, 
Main and Marchessault streets. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



283 



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284 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 




The Port of Los Angeles— 1922. 

When Governor Neve was founding Los Angeles, 
Washington and Rochambeau were taking Corn- 
walHs at Yorktown, but no echo of that Horious 
achievement was heard in CaHfornia until long af- 
terward. 

The outlet for Los Angeles by way of the sea was 
through the Bay of San Pedro. This part was dis- 
covered by Cabrillo in 1542 and named the Bay of 
Smokes. The first American ship entered the har- 
bor in 1805 and traded with the people for otter 
skins and food supplies. The early settlers of Los 
Angeles engaged in agriculture and stock raising. 
In 1800 the shipment of wheat to Old Mexico began. 
The first church in Los Angeles was dedicated in 1822. 
It stood on what is now Main Street and faced the 
Plaza. Los Angeles w^as the leading city in South- 
ern California from the beginning. Its early history 
is mainly the story of the political struggles of the 
pioneer Spanish families. The names of Dominguez, 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



285 



Figiieroa, Pico and Verdugo are linked inseparably 
with the history of Los Angeles. 

During the war with Mexico, Los Angeles passed 
under American control on January 10, 1847. Gen- 
eral Stephen Kearny and General John C. Fremont 
and Commodore Stockton were the American lead- 
ers who captured the city. A fort was erected on 
the hill above the present Broadway tunnel and 
named Fort Moore. 

Occasionally a party of Americans arrived from 
the east, having crossed the plains by way of Salt 
Lake or through Arizona, but nearly all settlers and 
travellers came by water through San Pedro, or 
through San Diego, and thence over El Camino Real. 

Los Angeles was distinctly a Spanish city as late 
as 1870, when it had 5,614 inhabitants. In 1869 a 
railroad was built to San Pedro. In the decade from 
1870 to 1880, the Southern Pacific Railway entered 




Great railroad terminal, city of Los Angeles. 



286 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

Los Angeles from the San Joaquin Valley. In 1880 
its population was 11,183, and the Americans were 
dominating the city. The decade from 1880 to 1890 
saw the completion of the Southern Pacific Railway 
to New Orleans, the completion of the Santa Fe 
Railway to Los Angeles, and the first great real es- 
tate boom in the history of Los Angeles. The rail- 
roads drew Los Angeles very near to the east and 
started it on that career of marvelous growth which 
still marks it as a wonder city. 

In 1882 the Los Angeles State Normal School 
began its work. In 1890 Los Angeles had 50,395 
people. Between 1890 and 1900 Los Angeles waged 
and won its great fight for the development of a 
free harbor at San Pedro under the control of the 
people. The National government accepted San Pe- 
dro as the port to be developed and built, a stone 
breakwater more than five miles in length which 
gives a protected anchorage of deep water more than 
3000 acres in extent. In 1906 Los Angeles annexed 
Wilmington and San Pedro and began the active de- 
velopment of the inner harbor between San Pedro 
and Long Beach. The inner harbor consists of more 
than 30,000 acres of tide lands protected from the 
sea by a strip of land extending along the shore 
from Long Beach to Deadman's Island at the en- 
trance to the inner harbor. The tide lands are easy 
to dredge and the danger from silt has been over- 
come by deflecting the Los Angeles River into the 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 287 

ocean just west of Long Beach. Competent engi- 
neers declare that Port Los Angeles can be made 
the greatest artificial harbor in the world, and Los 
Angeles is determined to do that work. 

In 1900 Los Angeles had 102,479 people. The 
need for an adequate water supply was becoming 
serious. On the 12th day of June, 1907, Los An- 
geles decided by a vote of 21,918 to 2,128 to issue 
$23,000,000 in bonds to bring a supply of water from 
Inyo County. The work of planning and building 
the aqueduct was placed in the hands of William 
Mulholland, one of the greatest civil engineers. This 
man-made river stretching for 240 miles under moun- 
tains, over canyons, across deserts, from the snows 
of Mount Whitney to the homes of Los Angeles, was 
built within the estimated limits of time and cost. 
Its maximum capacity is 33,000 miners' inches of 
water, and a hundred thousand horsepower of elec- 
tric energy. 

In the period from 1900 to 1910, two great rail- 
way enterprises helped Los Angeles. In 1901 Henry 
E. Huntington began the construction of the Pacific 
Electric Railway system which centers at Sixth and 
Main Streets in Los Angeles, and serves the people 
of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Ber- 
nardino Counties. Henry E. Huntington has built 
and endowed in recent years a great library, where 
he has placed many treasures of an historic and ar- 
tistic value. 



288 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 




CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



289 



William A. Clark, formerly U. S. Senator from 
Montana, completed his great railroad, the Salt Lake 
line, in this decade. This road extends 782 miles 
from Salt Lake to Los Angeles, and gives the people 




Church of Nuestra Senora, Reina de Los Angeles 

This, the oldest church in Los Angeles and still in use, stands 

near the site of the first pueblo. The corner stone of the 

chapel was laid by Padre Gil of San Gabriel in 1814. 



290 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

of Southern Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Montana and 
Wyoming a direct outlet to the markets of the world 
through Port Los Angeles. Automobile boulevards 
radiate in all directions. Since 1910 Los Angeles 
has developed rapidly as a manufacturing city. In 
1920 it was the tenth city in population in America, 
having increased from 319,198 in 1910 to 576,073 
in 1920. In 1920 Los Angeles County was the lead- 
ing agricultural county of the United States and Los 
Angeles City ranked as the tenth American city in 
manufacturing. Los Angeles has a mild and equable 
climate because of its nearness to the sea, the range 
of mountains which curves like a great arch from 
above Santa Monica eastward for seventy-five miles, 
and then southw^ard to the ocean, and to its near- 
ness to the equator. This climate has attracted the 
thoughtful and the daring from all parts of the world. 
The tide of population flowing into Los Angeles 
brings to the city the pick of the world. The city 
is going ahead with great rapidity, and its devel- 
opment along every line represents the very best in 
American ideals and achievements. 



OAKLAND 

Because of the deep water lying close along the 
shore, the ships coming through the Golden Gate 
anchored on the peninsula side, and it was on the 
peninsula that the padres built their mission. The 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 




292 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

establishment of the presidio and fort built by the 
Spaniards also tended to bring to this side the travel 
both by land and sea, and it was very natural that 
the first town on San Francisco Bay should be on 
the peninsula. 

Across the bay, on the mainland, was a low, broad 
plain, covered with great oaks and with hills beyond 
whose ravines were filled with redwoods. Men from 
Portola's expedition of 1772 had camped here, and 
in 1797 Father Fermin Francisco de Lasuen had es- 
tablished farther south the Mission of San Jose, but 
it was not until twenty-three years later that the first 
settlers came to that part of the mainland across from 
Yerba Buena. Don Luis Maria Peralta received, 
on June 20, 1820, from Governor de Sala, last of the 
Spanish governors of California, a grant of land 
which included all of the sites of the present cities 
of Berkeley, Oakland, Alameda and San Leandro, 
and which was called the Rancho of San Antonio. 

Peralta had four sons, and in 1842 the Rancho 
San Antonio was divided among them. To Jose 
Domingo Peralta was given the northwest portion, 
embracing what is now Berkeley. The adjacent por- 
tion, that which is now the main part of the city of 
Oakland, including the Encinal del Temescal, then 
an oak grove, was given to Vicente Peralta. To 
Antonio Maria Peralta was given that which now 
includes East Oakland and Alameda, while to Igna- 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 293 

cio Peralta was given the land to the south, as far 
as San Leandro Creek. 

With the great wave of immigration following the 
discovery of gold came the gradual overflow of white 
settlers upon the Peralta lands. In 1850 one Moses 
Chase, said to be the first white settler in Oakland 
territory, pitched his tent beside the estuary. In 
1851 Edson Adams, A. J. Moon and H. W. Carpen- 
tier squatted on Vicente Peralta's land near the point 
where Broadway now touches the estuary. Peralta 
appealed to the law and finally leased to the three 
men the tract of land on which they laid out the city 
of Oakland, which was incorporated in 1852. 

The little town had at this time only about 100 
inhabitants. There were a few scattered ranchos in 
the vicinity and the lumbering of the redwoods in 
the adjacent hills was the only industry. Wild Mex- 
ican cattle still roamed the hills, which were luxu- 
riantly covered with yellow mustard and wild oats. 
Yet so rapidly was California growing, and so prom- 
ising the future of the little city, that in 1853 Oak- 
land was reported to have a population of 8,000. 

Now the old Rancho San Antonio is covered with 
the spreading and constantly lengthening streets of 
the east bay cities, separate in government but one 
in interest, and so closely grown together that they 
are one in appearance. Handsome homes are being 
built high up in the hills where once the clumsy oxen 
dragged great redwood logs to the mill, and the es- 



294 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

tuary shores where Moses Chase pitched his tent are 
covered with busy factories. A quarter of a milhon 
people call Oakland their home. 

A prominent feature of Oakland's growth is her 
public and private schools. The city is known for 
many beautiful parks. One lies about Lake Merritt, 
a lovely sheet of water in the very heart of the city; 
but that which perhaps holds the greatest interest 
is one of the latest to be acquired, and which serves 
as a memorial to our great poet, Joacjuin Miller. 
This covers a large part of the land, high up toward 
the summit of the hills, upon which the poet built his 
home and w^here he lived for so long. Only a bare 
and rocky hill then, Joaquin planted upon it a forest 
of cypress and eucalypti which have thrived and 
grown. 

Above the poet's old home, preserved as a museum, 
is the spot upon which Fremont stood when he gave 
to the Golden Gate its name, and here Joaquin with 
his own hands built a monument of stone to the great 
explorer. On a lower slope he built a funeral pyre 
of rough native stone and on this his ashes were scat- 
tered at his death. 

SAN DIEGO 

The city of San Diego has the finest historical 
background of any of our modern cities. It was 
established in 1769, being the first place located in 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 295 

California by the Spaniards. It was originally in- 
corporated by a special act of the legislature under 
American rule in 1850. 

It was from San Diego that William Walker* 
started on his career as a filibuster. He was born in 
1824, was a lawyer at Marysville, and editor in San 
Francisco in the early '50's. The San Diego Herald 
December 3, 1853, publishes an account of Walker's 
capture of La Paz, Lower California, and December 
24, of the capture of Ensenada. The expedition, how- 
ever, was a failure. 

The land of what was known originally as Old 
Town, or Old San Diego, as compared with New 
San Diego, was purchased by A. E. Horton at 27 
cents an acre in 1867. He laid out the streets, parks, 
etc., or a new city. Mr. Horton gave the wonder- 
ful park of 1400 acres to the city. By the plaza 
where now stands the U. S. Grant Hotel stood the 
hotel known as the Horton House, very famous 
in the 70's and 80's. The city has had many ups 
and downs. In 1886 to 1890 it had a great real 
estate boom due to the building of the Santa Fe and 
the prospects of other railroads and to the proposed 
irrigation system. It was at this time that Coro- 
nado beach was purchased and placed on the market 



* "Walker in Nicaragua" is the title of a poem by Joaquin Miller 
that made Walker as well as Miller famous in London. Walker 
afterwards became a revolutionary lead-er in Nicaragua and in an 
attempt to make war upon Honduras was captured and shot in 
the year 1860. 



296 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

as a town site, and the beautiful Hotel Del Coronado 
erected. The city was incorporated under the Free 
Holder's Charter in 1889. In 1915 and 1916 it held 
an exposition in honor of the opening of the Panama 
Canal. The chief attractions of San Diego are its 
beautiful bay, its wonderful park, its equitable cli- 
mate, its schools, its government buildings, and its 
teachers' college. 

SACRAMENTO 

Sacramento, capital city of California continuously 
since 1854 and serving as the seat of government 
for a little time prior to that, in 1852, is one of the 
richest in historical association of any city in the state. 

Dating its history back to the founding in 1839 of 
Sutter's Fort, whose walls have been rebuilt on their 
original site close to the heart of the city, Sacra- 
mento witnessed the stirring days of California's lib- 
eration from Mexican rule, for it was within the 
walls of Sutter's Fort that General Vallejo was for 
a time imprisoned. The Pathfinder, Fremont, had 
been before this, and was again, the guest of Cap- 
tain Sutter at the fort. All the emigrant trails which 
entered the state by the northern routes centered at 
Sutter's post, and it was from here that relief expe- 
ditions were sent out by the big-hearted Swiss to the 
belated emigrant trains caught in the snows of the 
Sierras. 

Here came James Marshall with his news of the 
discovery of gold on the American river; and here to 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



297 



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M 


^^^^^^^^^il fj^^'^^j^WMJl '^^Bj^m^F* 


t^' 



298 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

this, the principal — ahiiost the only — trading post of 
the two great valleys, came the hoard of gold seekers 
who followed in the train of the discovery. At the 
head of deepwater navigation on the Sacramento 
river, the town which sprung up about Sutter's trad- 
ing post became the important point of departure for 
the mines, and was incorporated as a city in 1850. 

It was in Sacramento, too, that the first railway of 
the state had its terminus, the Sacramento Valley 
road which was started from Sacramento in Febru- 
ary of 1855 and completed to Folsom, twenty-two 
miles away, by February 22, 1856. Perhaps it is only 
natural, then, that Sacramento should also have given 
birth to California's first railway connection with the 
eastern states, the Central Pacific. The men respon- 
sible for its building, Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, 
C. P. Huntington and Charles Crocker, were all res- 
idents of Sacramento at that time and planned to 
make the city the terminus of the great transconti- 
nental road. Stanford's residence is still preserved, 
a home for orphaned children; and Crocker gave to 
the city of Sacramento his home with its adjoining 
art gallery, containing one of the finest collections 
of paintings in the west. 

The Capitol grounds are among the most beautiful 
in the country, containing many varieties of shrubs 
and trees from all parts of the United States and 
from many foreign countries. Sacramento's climate 
is such that plants of the sub-tropics as well as those 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 299 

of the temperate zone thrive there, and in the Capitol 
park orange trees golden with fruit mingle with Nor- 
way pine; the Rose of Sharon from the Holy Land 
drops its petals beneath the drooping fronds of the 
banana palm, and the crimson berries of the Califor- 
nia holly gleam beside thorny cactus from the south- 
ern deserts. 

California's state fair, one of the greatest in the 
country, annually brings here people from all over 
the state to view the varied products on display, and 
it is here that one best realizes the diversity and im- 
mensity of California's products. 

In government Sacramento is well toward the front 
among California municipalities. In 1893 it changed 
to the commission form of government, and within 
the past few years has placed its affairs in the hands 
of a city manager, one of the few California cities 
working under this plan. 

Sacramento is an attractive city and an interesting 
city. Its streets, shaded by the great elms of half a 
century's growth, run down to the wharves which 
line the banks of the Sacramento river. Here dock 
the steamers which carry the produce of the im- 
mensely rich delta country below, and here occasion- 
ally may be seen an ocean steamer which has brought 
in its cargo of lumber from some coast port. 

Not the least of Sacramento's attractions are found 
in its splendid schools, conducted under a system 



300 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

which has in the last few years attracted much at- 
tention from educators here and in the east. 

LONG BEACH 

Long Beach is called the Wonder City of Califor- 
nia, and rightly so, for situated on a seven mile 
stretch facing south on the Pacific Ocean, swept by 
soft breezes, it has such an ideal climate that it 
has drawn to itself thousands of people within the 
last few decades. Incorporated first in 1888 with a 
population of around 500 it is now a progressive mod- 
ern city of more than 85,000 people. 

In the beginning two tribes of Indians, the Pubgna 
and the Tibahagna, inhabited the region of Long 
Beach. In 1784 a large grant of land was given 
Manuel Nieto by the King of Spain, extending from 
the Santa Ana River to the San Gabriel and from the 
ocean to the northern limits of what is now Downey. 
This later was divided into five large ranchos. Long 
Beach stands on part of two of these, Ranchos Los 
Cerritos and Los Alamitos. 

These typical California cattle ranches later came 
under the control of two Americans, John Temple and 
Abel Stearns, through marriage, during 1835-1845. 
John Temple built the Cerritos Ranch House, the cen- 
ter of generous hospitality and scene of many fiestas, 
fandangos, bull-fights, horse races and barbecues. 

When the Americans came John Temple was made 
alcalde of Los Angeles and after the taking posses- 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 301 

sion of California by the United States, the Ranchos 
Los Cerritos and Los Alamitos were confirmed to 
their owners. 

In 1863-4 a terrible drouth caused great loss of cat- 
tle and Mr. Temple and Mr. Stearns decided to aban- 
don ranching. 

[n 1865 the firm of Jonathan Bixby and Company 
purchased Rancho Los Cerritos for $20,000.00, or 
about 80 cents per acre. A few years later another 
firm, of which Jonathan Bixby and his cousin John 
Bixby were members, purchased Rancho Los Alami- 
tos. The ranches were stocked with merino sheep 
and for years much wool was produced. 

In 1881 W. E. Willmore, a real estate man, pro- 
posed to Mr. Bixby the laying out of a city along 
part of the seven miles of beach between the San 
Gabriel river and Alamitos bay. Willmore was given 
an option on 4000 acres at $25.00 per acre. The city 
was laid out and settlers began to arrive. In 1882 a 
o-rand auction was held. The Southern Pacific rail- 
road ran to Wilmington and Mr. Willmore and asso- 
ciates put in a horse car line to connect with it. 
In 1887 the Southern Pacific ran a road into Long 
Beach. 

In 1884 Mr. Willmore failed and Willmore City 
and the American Colony was sold to Charles B. 
Woodhead and others, who changed the name of 
the town to Long Beach and made extensive im- 
provements. 



302 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

In 1884 the Methodists were given a block of land 
in the middle of the town and commenced holding 
Chautauqua assemblies during the . summer. This 
was the beginning of a large number of summer vis- 
itors. During the boom days of 1885-6 much land 
was sold in Long Beach. 

Situated on the ocean, Long Beach has always had 
dreams of a harbor. At present she is tied up with 
the development of the Port of Los Angeles. The 
plan of having a harbor of her own by dredging the 
mouth of the San Gabriel river was brought about in 
1905. 

The last twenty years has seen a tremendous 
growth in Long Beach. Beautiful houses, fine streets, 
artesian water system, parks, fire protection, police, 
excellent schools, a great amusement center, hotels 
make it a bustling city. The discovery of oil within 
the last year on city lands has aided in paying the 
city's expenses. Long Beach at present is the Mecca 
of Middle Westerners and is destined to be one of 
the largest and most attractive residential cities of 
the Pacific Coast. 



BERKELEY 

Berkeley is the home of the University of Cali- 
fornia, the largest university in the world. The town 
is situated north of Oakland on San Francisco Bay. 
It derived its name from George Berkeley, Bishop of 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 303 

Cloyiie, Ireland, who came to this country for the 
purpose of estabhshing colleges early in the eigh- 
teenth century. It was he who wrote the famous 
lines, ''Westward the star of empire takes its way." 
When the university was located on its site in 1868 
there was there a small village called Ocean View. 
It is from this village the Berkeley of today has 
grown. It is now a rapidly growing city with a popu- 
lation of 56,036, according to the 1920 census. It has 
a good harbor, large factories and industrial works, 
and beautiful homes. Besides being the educational 
center of the west it has an industrial future with its 
excellent location. 

PASADENA 

On January 27, 1874, a picnic was held a few miles 
north of Los Angeles by a group of people from In- 
diana. They had bought a large stretch of land, 
paying $30.00 an acre for it, and planned to found 
homes on the site. During the following years many 
more settlers joined the Indiana colony and engaged 
in ranching. In 1875 the Indian name, Pasadena, 
meaning crown of the valley, was given the place. 
As time passed, Pasadena's growth, owing to her 
climatic attractions, grew apace. It is today noted as 
a city of millionaire homes. While it has some flour- 
ishing industries, it is essentially a home town. Yearly 
since 1890 a Tournament of Roses has been held on 
New Year's Day, which shows the world that the 



304 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

Crown of the Valley is blossoming in lavish pro- 
fusion in mid-winter. Pasadena's population, accord- 
ing to the 1920 census, is 45,354, and it is growing 
rapidly. 

FRESNO 

The city of Fresno is one of the newest cities of 
California to achieve importance. It was first incor- 
porated as a city of the fifth class in 1885. It was in- 
corporated under a Free Holders' charter in 1901. 
In 1900 it had a population of only 12,470, but the 
raisin industry since that time has developed it into a 
large city until in 1920 it had a population of 45,086. 
Fresno is the center of a large fruit growing terri- 
tory. It is the center of the raisin industry for the 
United States. It is the most important town in the 
southern San Joaquin Valley and its growth is due 
to the actual necessity brought about by the increas- 
ing rural population of the valley. 

STOCKTON 

The city of Stockton was laid out by Lieutenant 
Weber, w4io was connected with the early history of 
California, and named in honor of Commodore Stock- 
ton, commander of the naval vessel, the Congress. It 
was incorporated in 1852 and was reincorporated un- 
der the Free Holders' Charter in 1889. It is located 
upon the San Joaquin river and has been an impor- 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 305 

tant trading point, where rail and water meet. It is 
the location of many great manufacturing plants. 
The most noted being the manufacture of combined 
harvesters and the tractor. 

SAN JOSE 

The city of San Jose was founded by Governor 
Neve in 1777 with fifteen families in a pueblo called 
Guadalupe. It was originally incorporated in 1850 
and again under the Free Holders' Charter in 1897. 
It is the central trading place for the prune industry 
of the Santa Clara Valley. A State Teachers' Col- 
lege, the oldest institution of its kind in the state, is 
located here. San Jose has been the home of many 
pioneer families, and it was called by Bayard Taylor 
'The garden spot of the world." 

SANTA BARBARA 

The presidio of Santa Barbara was established 
April 21, 1782, by Governor Neve, and Padre Junipero 
Serra founded the Santa Barbara Mission on Decem- 
ber 4, 1786. When the Spaniards first came to the 
Santa Barbara coast they found the Indians were 
more intelligent than the average California tribes 
and so it was that when the mission was established 
and Fathers Antonio Paterna and Cristoval Bramos 
were left in charge they soon gathered about them a 
group of natives that made a prosperous settlement. 



306 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

The permanent presidio was completed in 1793, but 
it was not until 1797 that the church was finally in 
good order. Around the mission buildings clustered 
the adobe dwellings with their picturesque red tile 
roofs and during the Spanish and Mexican era the 
days were happy and carefree. With the coming of 
the Americans and the secularization of the missions 
the town took on a more commercial aspect. The 
town was incorporated by the first legislature of Cali- 
fornia in 1850. The natural advantages of climate 
and soil, the good harbor and splendid location of 
Santa Barbara has caused its growth. It is regarded 
as an ideal spot and thousands visit it annually. Its 
natural beauty and salubrious climate have gained it 
the title of the ''American Nice." The 1920 census 
gave the population as 19,441. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 307 



APPENDIX 

PLACES CONNECTED WITH CALIFORNIA 
HISTORY 

The Native Sons of the Golden West,* organized 
July 11, 1876, has an Historic Landmarks Commit- 
tee in its organization which has been instrumental 
in marking, preserving and restoring places connect- 
ed with the early history of California. It has 
been assisted in this work by the Native Daughterst 

* THE ORDER OF THE NATIVE SONS OF THE GOLDEN WEST 

Founded by General A. M. Winn on July 11, 1875, in San Francisco, Cali- 
fornia, the Order of the Native Sons of the Golden West has grown to a mem- 
bership of twenty-seven thousand today. The organization is exclusively for 
men who have been born in California and its aim is to encourage patriotism 
and advance the best interests of California. A portion of the oath administered 
to prospective members is, "I will ever be ready to serve my country whether 
in peace or in war." A few of the things accomplished by the Order are: pur- 
chased Sutter Fort and the grounds surrounding it at Sacramento and deeded 
them to the state ; took the lead in the restoration and preservation of Colton 
Hall, the scene of the first constitutional convention in California ; secured the 
restoration of the first U. S. Custom House in Monterey ; erected a monument 
to the memory of General A. M. Winn in Sacramento city cemetery ; secured 
the necessary legislation by which the largest redwood forest, the big basin of 
Santa Cruz county, became the property of the state; assisted in the erection 
of Sloat Monument at Monterey, commemorating the raising of the American 
flag on California soil ; worked actively and furnished funds for the restoration 
and preservation of the Missions of San Diego, Santa Ynez, San Antonia de 
Padua, San Juan Capistrano, San Jose and Sonoma; established fellowships in 
the University of California for investigation, study and research of the history 
of the Pacific Coast; took the lead and financed the fight against the Japanese 
menace which made possible the passage of the recent Alien Land Laws; in 
conjunction v/ith the Native Daughters has secured homes for about two thou- 
sand homeless children. 



t ORDER OF THE NATIVE DAUGHTERS OF THE GOLDEN WEST 

The Order of the Native Daughters of the Golden West consists of native- 
born California women. It was founded at Jackson, Amador County, California, 
on September 11, 1886, by Mrs. Frank Dyer, then Lilly O. Reichling. This or- 
ganization co-operates with civic, fraternal and community projects for the public 
welfare and in conjunction with other societies has accomplished numerous works, 
of which the following are named : establislied Arbor Day on Luther Burbank's 
birthday; established Mothers' Day as one of the official days of the order; 
planted many trees ; marked El Camino Real with mission bells in conjunction 
with other societies; helped preserve the old Spanish missions and marked land- 
marks connected with the early history of California ; helped extend the study 
of California history and patriotism and observance of the same in the schools; 
established college scholarships ; established a Native Daughters' Home and in 
conjunction with the Native Sons of the Golden West has been instrumental in 
placing thousands of homeless children in homes. 



308 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

and other organizations and persons. Travelers in 
the state today may stop at the landmarks and review 
something of the past and come to a better under- 
standing of the history of California. 

Sutter's Fort. — After several years' work money 
for the purchase of two blocks in Sacramento where 
Sutter's Fort stood, was raised by the Native Sons of 
the Golden West and appropriated by the State Leg- 
islature for the restoration of Sutter's Fort. The re- 
stored Sutter's Fort was dedicated in 1893. 

Marshall's Monument. — Near Coloma in El Do- 
rado County stands a monument today which marks 
the spot where James W. Marshall picked up the gold 
from the tail race of Sutter's mill. This monument 
was erected in 1887. 

Custom House. — The Custom House in Monterey, 
where Commodore John Drake Sloat raised the 
American flag on July 7, 1846, marking the passing 
of the Mexican regime and the introduction of Amer- 
ican rule, has been restored and is a picturesque spot 
on the west coast. 

Fort Gunnybags. — A memorial tablet marks the 
site of Fort Gunnybags, the headquarters of the San 
Francisco Vigilance Committee of 1856. The build- 
ing was burned in the fire of 1906, but the tablet was 
preserved. 

Franciscan Missions. — Different organizations 
and persons have undertaken to raise funds for the 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 309 

restoration and preservation of the California Mis- 
sions. This work is only partially completed. 

Commander Montgomery's Landing Place — 
Commander John B. Montgomery landed in San 
Francisco at what is now the corner of Montgom- 
ery and Clay streets. A tablet marks the spot. The 
words on the tablet are: 

''On July 9, 1846, in the early morning in 'the days 
when the water came up to Montgomery street' Com- 
mander John B. Montgomery, for whom Montgom- 
ery street was named, landed near the spot from the 
U. S. Sloop-of-War 'Portsmouth' to raise the Stars 
and Stripes on the Plaza, now Portsmouth Square, 
one block to the west." 

Broderick and Terry Duel. — A bronze tablet has 
been placed in San Mateo County just over the San 
Francisco line, marking the last and one of the most 
important duels fought in California. It was "an 
affair of honor" and the participants were United 
States Senator David C. Broderick and Judge David 
S. Terry, who met September 13, 1859. Senator 
Broderick was fatally wounded and died three days 
later. 

Bear Flag Party. — A monument has been erected 
in Sonoma commemorating the Bear Flag Party. 

DoNNER Party. — Headed by Dr. C. W. Chapman 
the Donner Monument Committee has erected a mon- 
ument on the shores of Donner Lake commemorating 
the heroism of the Donner Party. 



310 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

Presidio Hill. — A cross made of steel, concrete 
and tiles from the old mission settlement in San Dieo:o 
has been built on Presidio Hill, San Diego, in mem- 
ory of Father Junipero Serra and his work. 

Gigantic Grapevine. — The grapevine planted in 
1861 at the San Gabriel Mission is still growing. 

Presidios. — The presidios of Santa Barbara, 
founded 1788; Monterey, founded 1770, and of San 
Francisco, founded in 1776, but not built until 1792, 
are still standing. 

Fort Ross. — The ruins at Fort Ross mark the only 
Russian settlement made within the borders of Cali- 
fornia. Captain Sutter bought the equipment from 
the Russian fort when it was abandoned. 

Casa Grande. — This was the old adobe ranch 
home of General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, the last 
military governor of California. It is in the Sonoma 
foothills. 

Portsmouth Square. — Marks the site in San 
Francisco where Captain John B. Montgomery raised 
the American flag on July 9, 1846, taking possession 
of the town in the name of the United States. There 
is also a monument in the square to Robert Louis 
Stevenson. 

The Prayer Book Cross. — This cross was erected 
in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, by George W. 
Childs of Philadelphia, commemorating the first Pro- 
testant religious service held by Chaplain Fletcher in 
Drake's party in California near Point Reyes in 1578. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 311 

Sherman Rose Tree. — The Gold of Ophir rose 
tree is in Monterey and is significant of the romance 
between Senorita Bonifacio, the belle of Monterey, 
and General W. T. Sherman, who was a young offi- 
cer in the army stationed at Monterey in the early 
'50's. 

CoLTON Hall. — Colton Hall is in Monterey, the 
first capital of this state. It is there the first consti- 
tutional convention was held September 1, 1849. 

Old Theater. — The old adobe is in Monterey and 
belongs to the state. 

Sloat Monument. — This monument was erected 
in Monterey on the Presidio Reservation as a memo- 
rial to Rear-Admiral John Drake Sloat, who took 
possession of California for the United States July 
7, 1846. 

Father Junipero Serra's Monument. — Erected 
in Monterey by Mrs. Jane L. Stanford. The cross 
marks the spot where Junipero Serra landed and the 
tree under which he held the service. 

El Cam I no Real. — This is the Spanish name for 
the King's Highway or the Royal Road which joined 
the twenty-one missions, four presidios and three 
pueblos from San Diego to Sonoma in the early days. 
The original highway is now in the system of state 
highways of the state. The road is marked by four 
hundred Mission Bell guide posts which were erected 
by El Camino Real Association and given by vari- 
ous organizations and persons. 



312 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

FRANCISCAN MISSIONS OF CALIFORNIA AND WHEN 
ESTABLISHED 

Name Location Date 

San Diego — San Diego County July 16, 1769 

San Luis Rey — San Diego County June 13, 1798 

San Juan Capistrano — Orange County Nov. 1,' 1776 

San Gabriel Arcangel — Los Angeles County Sept. 8, 1771 

San Buenaventura — Ventura County Mar. 31, 1782 

San Fernando — Los Angeles County S-ept. 8, 1797 

Santa Barbara — Santa Barbara County Dec. 4,' 1786 

Santa Ynez— Santa Barbara County Sept. 17^ 1804 

La Purisima Concepcion — Santa Barbara County -...Dec. 8, 1787 

San Luis Obispo — San Luis Obispo County Sept. 1, 1772 

San Miguel Arcangel— San Luis Obispo County July 25, 1797 

San Antonio de Padua — Monterey County July 14, 1771 

La Soledad — Monterey County Oct. 9,' 1791 

San Carlos de Monterey (or Carmel Mission) — Mon- 
terey County June 3, 1770 

San Juan Bautista — San Benito County June 24, 1797 

Santa Cruz — Santa Cruz County Aug. 28,'. 1791 

Santa Clara — Santa Clara County Jan. 18, 1777 

San Jose — Alameda County June 11^ 1797 

Dolores or San Francisco de Asisis — San Francisco Co. ..Oct. 9,' 1776 

San Rafael Arcangel — Marin County Dec. 18, 1817 

San Francisco Solano — Sonoma County Aug. 25,' 1823 

GOVERNORS OF CALIFORNIA 
SPANISH GOVERNORS 

Name . Year 

Caspar de Portola 1769-71 

Felipe de Barri 1771-74 

Felipe de Neve , 1774-82 

Pedro Pages 1782-90 

Jose Romeu 1790-92 

Jose Arrillaga 1792-94 

Diego de Borica 1794-1800 

Jose Arrillaga 1800-14 

Jose Arguello 1814-15 

Pablo de Sola 1815-22 

MEXICAN GOVERNORS 

Luis Argu-ello 1823-25 

Jose Maria Echeandia 1825-31 

Manuel Victoria .' 1831-32 

Pio Pico Z._', 1832-33 

Jose Figueroa 1833-35 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 313 

Jose Castro 1835-36 

Nicolas Gutierrez (January to May) 1836 

Mariano Chico (few months) 1836 

Nicolas Gutierrez (few months) '. 1836 

Juan B. Alvarado 1836-42 

Manuel Micheltorena 1842-45 

Pio Pico (February 22 to August 10) 1846 

AMERICAN GOVERNORS UNDER MILITARY RULE 

John D. Sloat July 7, 1846 

Robert F. Stockton July 29, 1846 

John C. Fremont (for 50 days) Jan. 19, 1847 

Steph-en W. Kearny March to May 31, 1847 

Richard B. Mason May 31, 1847 

Persifor F. Smith Feb. 28, 1849 

Bennet Riley April 12, 1849 

GOVERNORS OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA 

Peter H. Burnett (Democrat) Dec. 20, 1849 

John McDougall (Democrat) Jan. 9, 1851 

John Bigler (Democrat) Jan. 8, 1852 

John Bigler (Democrat) Jan. 7, 1854 

John Neely Johnson (American Party) Jan. 9, 1856 

John B. W-eller (Democrat) Jan. 8, 1858 

Milton S. Latham (Democrat) Jan. 9, 1860 

John G. Downey (Democrat) Jan. 14, 1860 

Leland Stanford (Republican) Jan. 10, 1862 

Frederick F. Low (Union Party) Dec. 10, 1863 

Henry H. Haight (Democrat) Dec. 5, 1867 

Newton Booth (Republican) Dec. 8, 1871 

Romualdo Pacheco (Republican) Feb. 27, 1875 

William Irwin (Democrat) Dec. 9, 1875 

George C. Perkins (Republican) Jan. 8, 1880 

George Stoneman (Democrat) Jan. 10, 1883 

Washington Bartlett (Democrat) Jan. 8, 1887 

Robert W. Waterman (Republican) Sept. 13, 1887 

H. H. Markham (Republican) Jan. 8, 1891 

James H. Budd (Democrat) Jan. 11, 1895 

Henry T. Gage (Republican) Jan. 4, 1899 

George C. Pardee (Republican) Jan. 7, 1903 

James N. Gillett (Republican) Jan. 9, 1907 

Hiram Johnson (Republican) Jan. 3, 1911 

William D. Steph-ens 1917.. 



314 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



AREAS, POPULATION, AND COUNTY SEATS OF 
CALIFORNIA COUNTIES 

„ ^ Land Area in Population Population „ 4. c * 

County Square Miles in 1910 in 1920 County Seat 

Alameda 732 246,131 344,177 Oakland 

Alpine 776 309 243 Markleeville 

Amador 601 9,086 7,793 Jackson 

Butte 1,698 27,301 30,030 Oroville 

Calaveras 1,027 9,171 6,183 San Andreas 

Colusa 1,140 7,732 9,290 Colusa 

Contra Costa 714 31,674 53,889 Martinez 

Del Norte 1,024 2,417 2,759 Crescent City 

Eldorado 1,737 7,492 6,426 Placerville 

Fresno 5,950 75,657 128,779 Fresno 

Glenn 1,337 7,172 11,853 Willows 

Humboldt 3,575 33,857 37,413 Eureka 

Imperial 4,089 13,591 43,453 El Centro 

Inyo 9,991 6,974 7,031 Independence 

Kern 8,003 37,715 54,843 Bakersfield 

Kings 1,159 16,230 22,031 Hanford 

Lake 1,238 5,526 5,402 Lakeport 

Lass-en 4,531 4,802 8,507 Susanville 

Los Angeles 4,115 504,131 936,455 Los Angeles 

Madera 2,112 8,368 12,203 Madera 

Marin 529 25,114 27,342 San Rafael 

Mariposa 1,463 3,956 2,775 Mariposa 

Mendocino 3,539 23,929 24,116 Ukiah 

Merced 1,995 15,148 24,579 Merced 

Modoc 3,823 6.191 5,425 Alturas 

Mono 3,030 2,042 960 Bridgeport 

Monterey 3,330 24,146 27,980 Salinas 

Napa 783 19,800 20,678 Napa 

Nevada 974 14,955 10,850 Nevada City 

Orange 795 34,436 61,375 Santa Ana 

Placer 1,411 18,237 18.584 Auburn 

Plumas 2,593 5,259 5,681 Quincy 

Riverside 7,223 34,696 50,297 Riverside 

Sacramento 983 67,806 91.029 Sacramento 

San Benito 1,392 8,041 8,995 Hollister 

San Bernardino ....20,175 56,706 73,401 San Bernardino 

San Diego 4,221 61,665 112,248 San Diego 

San Francisco 42 416.912 506,676 San Francisco 

San Joaquin 1,448 50,731 79,905 Stockton 

San Luis Obispo.... 3,334 19,383 21,893 San Luis Obispo 

San Mateo 447 26,585 36,781 Redwood City 

Santa Barbara 2,740 27,738 41,097 Santa Barbara 

Santa Clara 1,328 83,539 100,676 San Jose 

Santa Cruz 435 26,140 26,269 Santa Cruz 

Shasta 3,858 . 18,920 13,361 Redding 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



315 



^ Land Area in Population 

County Square Miles in 1910 

Skrra 923 4,098 

Siskiyou 6,256 18,801 

Solano 822 27,559 

Sonoma 1,582 48,394 

Stanislaus 1,450 22,522 

Sutter 608 6,328 

Tehama 2,925 11,401 

Trinity 3,096 3,301 

Tulare 4,856 35,440 

Tuolumne 2,190 9,979 

Ventura 1,858 18,347 

Yolo 1,014 13,926 

Yuba 632 10,042 



Population 
in 1920 


County Se: 


1,783 


Downieville 


18,545 


Yreka 


40,602 


Fairfield 


52,090 


Santa Rosa 


43,557 


Modesto 


10,115 


Yuba City 


12.882 


Red Bluff 


2,551 


Weaverville 


59.031 


Visalia 


7,768 


Sonora 


28,724 


V-entura 


17,105 


Woodland 


10,375 


Marysville 



INCORPORATED PLACES HAVING 2500 OR MORE 
PEOPLE IN 1920 



City or Town 



County 



Population 
in 1910 



Alameda Alameda ^c'^o? 

Alhambra Los Angeles 5,021 

Anaheim Orange .o'SoS 

Bakersfield Kern 12,727 

Benicia Solano 3.5. 

Berkeley Alam-eda 40,434 

Brawley Imperial 881 

Burbank Los Angeles 540 

Burlingame San Mateo 1,565 

Calexico Imperial 797 



Chico 
Coalinga 



Butte 3,750 

Fresno 4,199 



Colton San Bernardino 



3,980 



Corona 

Coronado 

Daly City San Mateo 

Dinuba Tulare 

Dunsmuir Siskiyou . 

East San Diego San Diego 

El Centro Imperial ... 

Eureka Humboldt 

Fort Bragg Mendocino 



Riverside : 3,540 

San Diego 1,477 



970 
1,719 
4,500 
1,610 
11,845 
2.408 



Fresno Fresno 24,892 

Fullerton Orange 1,725 

Gilroy Santa Clara 2,437 

Glendale Los Angeles 2,746 

Grass Valley Nevada 4,520 

Hanford Kings 4,829 



Population 
in 1920 

28,806 
9,096 
5,526 

18,638 
2.693 

56,036 
5,389 
2,913 
4,107 
6.223 
9,339 
2.934 
4,282 
4,129 
3,289 
3,779 
3,400 
2,528 
4,148 
5,464 

12,923 
2,616 

45.086 
4.415 
2,862 

13.536 
4.006 
5,888 



316 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 

City or Town County TinT "^'^19^ 

Hayward Alameda 2,746 3,487 

Hollister ^ San Benito 2,308 2.781 

Huntington Park Los Angeles 1,299 4,513 

Inglewood „ Los Angeles 1,536 3,286 

Lindsay Tulare 1,814 2,576 

Lodi San Joaquin 2,697 4,850 

Long Beach ^ Los Angeles 17,809 55,593 

Los Angeles Los Angeles 319,198 576,673 

Madera Madera 2,404 3,444 

Martinez Contra Costa 2,115 3,858 

Marysville Yuba 5,430 5,461 

Merced Merced 3,102 3,974 

Mill Valley Marin 2,551 2,554 

Modesto Stanislaus 4,034 9,241 

Monrovia Los Angeles 3,576 5,480 

Monterey Monterey 4,923 5,479 

Monterey Park Los Angeles 4,108 

Napa Napa 5,791 6,757 

National City San Diego 1,733 3,116 

Needles San Bernardino 3,067 2,807 

Oakland Alameda 150,174 216,261 

Ontario San Bernardino 4,274 7,280 

Orange Orange 2,920 4,884 

Oroville Butte 3,859 3,340 

Oxnard .Ventura 2,555 4,417 

Pacific Grove Monterey 2,384 2.974 

Palo Alto Santa Clara 4,486 5,900 

Pasadena Los Angeles 30,291 45,354 

Petaluma Sonoma 5,880 6,226 

Piedmont Alameda 1,719 4,282 

Pittsburg Contra Costa 2,372 4,715 

Pomona Los Angeles 10,207 13,505 

Porterville Tulare 2,696 4,097 

Red Bluff Tehama 3,530 3,104 

Redding Shasta 3,572 2,962 

Redlands San Bernardino 10,449 9,571 

Redondo B-each Los Angeles 2.935 4,913 

Redwood City San Mateo 2,442 4,020 

Richmond Contra Costa 6,802 16,843 

Riverside Riverside 15,212 19,341 

Roseville Placer 2,608 4.477 

Sacramento Sacramento 44.696 65.908 

Salinas Monterey 3.736 4.308 

San Bernardino San Bernardino 12,779 18.721 

San Diego San Diego 39,578 74.683 

San Fernando Los Angeles ^ 2,134 3,204 

San Francisco San Francisco 416,912 506,676 

San Gabriel Los Angeles 2,640 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 317 

_. _ ^ Population Population 

City or Town County in 1910 in 1920 

San Jose Santa Clara 28,946 39.642 

San Leandro Alameda 3,471 5,703 

San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo 5,157 5,895 

San Mateo San Mateo 4,384 5,979 

San Rafael Marin 5,934 5,512 

Sanger Fresno 2,578 

Santa Ana Orange 8,429 15,485 

Santa Barbara Santa Barbara 11,659 19,441 

Santa Clara ~ Santa Clara 4,348 5,220 

Santa Cruz Santa Cruz 11,146 10,917 

Santa Maria Santa Barbara 2,260 3,943 

Santa Monica ~ Los Angeles 7,847 15,252 

Santa Paula Ventura 2,216 3,967 

Santa Rosa Sonoma 7,817 8,758 

Sausalito Marin 2,383 2,790 

Selma Fresno 1,750 3,158 

South Pasadena Los Angeles 4,649 7,652 

S. San Francisco San Mateo 1,989 4,411 

Stockton San Joaquin 23,253 40,296 

Taft Kern 300 3,317 

Tulare Tulare 2,758 3,539 

Turlock Stanislaus 1,573 3,394 

Upland San Bernardino 2,384 2,912 

Vallejo Solano 11,340 21,107 

Venice Los Angeles 3.119 10.385 

Ventura Ventura 2,945 4,342 

Visalia Tulare 4,550 5,753 

Watsonville Santa Cruz 4,446 5,013 

Watts Los Angeles 1,922 4,529 

Whittier Los Angeles 4,550 7,997 

Woodland Yolo 3,187 4.147 



POPULATION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNL\ 
BY DECADES 

1850 92.597 

1860 379,994 

1870 560,247 

1880 864,694 

1890 1,208,130 

1900 1,485,053 

1910 2,377,549 

1920 3,426,861 



318 CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



NAMES OF CALIFORNIA PLACES, WITH 

SPANISH, INDIAN AND ENGLISH 

DERIVATIONS 

The study of the names apphed to CaHfornia places 
is of very great interest. This is due partly to the 
fact that the Spanish names when translated appear 
so appropriate and so fitting that it is a delight to 
discover the meaning hidden in the Spanish words. 

The pronunciation of these Spanish words has been 
more or less difficult for the tourists or the new set- 
tler, and there is printed therefore a key for pronun- 
ciation and quite a complete list of California names 
with the meaning of the Indian and Spanish terms. 

A KEY FOR PRONOUNCING WORDS OF SPANISH 
DERIVATION 

give a the sound of ah; a-ni-an' 

give e the sound of ay; Ca-bri'llo, Rodriguez, Ro-dre'ges 

give i the sound of ee; ^1^^.^' 5^-1^-^'^'^ 

. . , , r , Ca-rrillo 

give J the sound of h; Co-lo'ma 

give o the sound of oh; Da'ri-en 

give u the sound of oo; Di-os' 

h is silent; Ji^^'^^' ^/''^^t-day, holiday _ ^ 

,, . 1 1 1M 1 1-1 .1 ualvez, Jose, gal veth, ho-say 

11 IS sounded like lya, like the Ga-vi-lan' 

11 in million; Kearny, Kar'ny 

n is sounded like ny in lanyard; La Paz 

hua is sounded like wa in water. Las-u-en ,_ .. „ -, • 

Los Angeles, los ang hal-ais 
neophyte, na'6-flte, baptized In- 
Pronouncing vocabulary of dian 

difficult names. Ne-ve, Fe-li"pe de 

al-cal'de, mayor, magistrate pa'dres, fathers 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



319 



plaza, pla'sa, public square 

Point Reyes, Re'yes 

Por-to-la', Gas'par de 

pueblo, pwab'lo, town 

Re-za'nof 

ro-de'o, round-up of cattle for 

branding and separating 
San Fran-cis'co 
San Joaquin, san hoa-keen' 
San Jose, san ho-say' 
San Pas-qual' 



Serra, Junipero, sa'ra, hoo-ne- 

pa-ro 
Sutter, soo'ter 
Vallejo, Mariano, val-ya'ho, ma- 

ri-a'no 
vigilantes, vi-hi-lan'tes, members 

of vigilance committee 
Vizcaino, Sebastian, ves-ka-e'no, 

se-bas-fi-an' 
Yerba Buena, yer'ba bwa'na; a 

fragrant plant; the early 

name of San Francisco 



CALIFORNIA NAMES 



Acampo — pasture land on com- 
mons. 

Agricola — a farmer. 

Agua Caliente — hot water, 

Agua Caiendo — falling water. 

Agua Dulce — sweet water. 

Agua Hedionda — bad smelling 
water, 

Agua Tibia — warm water, 

Agua Puerca — water for pigs. 

Alameda — a walk with trees. 

Alamillo, Alimitos — little pop- 
lars. 

Alamos Muchos — many poplars 
or cottonwoods. 

Albion — English name given 
California by Drake; some 

say white. 
Albuquerque — white oak. 
Alcatraz — pelican. 
Alisos — alders. 
Almaden — mine. 
Alpine — is high land, where it 

snows. 
Alta — high, 

Altamont — high mountain, 
Altaville — high town. 
Alturas — the heavens. 



Alvarado — a surname, meaning 

white road. 
Alviso — the view. 
Amador — surname, meaning 

lover. 
Amaragosa — (river) has bitter 

water. 
American — (river) had a settle- 
ment of Americanos or people 

from U. S. 
Anaheim — Anna's home. 
Anahuac — everlasting water. 
Antelope Valley— had antelope 

there. 
Anita — little Anna. 
Antioch — ancient city. 
Arcade — row of arches. 
Arena — sand. 
Arrowhead Springs— has mark 

resembling arrowhead on 

nearby mountains. 
Arroyo Burro — jackass creek. 
Arroyo Del Norte— north creek. 
Arroyo Grande — big creek. 
Arroyo Media — middle creek. 
Artesia — from Artios, France, 

where artesian wells were 

first discovered. 



320 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



Arroyo Seco — dry creek. 
Asuncion, assencion. 
Atascadero — miry place. 
Auburn — surname, meaning 

brown; also an ancient city. 
Azusa — above; some say spell- 
ed Asusa. 
Baden — bath. 
Baja — lower. 
Bakersfield — named after Baker,, 

who founded the town. 
Baldy (Mt.) — bare or bald on 

top. 
Ballena (Mt. ) — looks lik e a 

whale. 
Bangor — high choir. 
Banning — a surname. 
Banner — was the banner mining 

camp. 
Barro — clay. 
Batavia — low plain. 
Bear Valley — many bears in 

valley. 
Bellota — acorns. 
Bella Vista — beautiful view. 
Belmont — surname, meaning 

beautiful mountain. 
Benedict — surname, meaning 

blessed. 
Benicia — named after wife of 

General Vallejo. 

Berenda — antelope (in Merced 
County a missp-elling for 
Berrendo). 

Berkeley — brook meadow, named 
after Bishop Berkel-ey, who 
wrote famous poem "West- 
ward the Star of Empire 
Takes Its Way." 

Berlin — uncultivated land. 



Bernard and Bernardino — Ber- 
nard. 

Blanco — white. 

Boca — mouth. 

Bodega — was a captain, means 
pocket. 

Bolinas — ropes. 

Bonita — pretty. 

Brea — named from oil residue. 

Brooklyn — brook pool. 

Buena Ventura — good luck. 

Buena Vista — good view. 

Butte — lone mountain. 

Cabrillo (Cape) — named after 
discoverer. 

Cache — hiding place for goods. 

Cajon — big box or valley shut 
in by hills. 

Calaveras — river of skulls. 

Caliente — hot. 

Cambria — name for Wales, 
meaning cymbri country. 

Campo — camp. 

Campo Seco — dry camp. 

Canada — mountain valley. 

Canada de los Coches — pig val- 
ley. 

Canada de los Noques — tan pit 
valley. 

Canada Verde — green valley. 

Canon (Spanish), Canyon (In- 
dian) — deep valley with steep 
sides. 

Carissa for Carrizo — a reed 
grass. 

Carlsbad — Charles' bath. 

Carmelo, Carmelito — a flower. 

Carmen — a country house. 

Camadero — said to mean a 
sh-eep owner. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



321 



Carneros — sheep; word Borego 
is the Cahfornia word for 
sheep. 

Carpentaria — Carpenter's shop. 

Casa Grande — big house. 

Castroville — after Gen. Castro. 

Cayucas — fishing boat. 

Cazadero — hunting place. 

Centinela — a sentinel. 

Ceres — goddess of grain. 

Cerros — hills. 

Cerritos — little hills; also writ- 
ten Cerillos. 

Cerro Gordo — thick hill. 

Chico — little; Gov. Chico. 

Chileno — from Chili. 

Chine — Chinaman or simpleton. 

Chocolate — brown. 

Chula Vista — pretty view. 

Cienega — swamp; wrongly spell- 
•ed Scenega in Ventura. 

Cimarron — lost river. 

Cisco — broken coal. 

Cloverdale (Valley) — much burr 
clover. 

Coahuilla or Kaweah — seceders; 
Indians. 

Colorado — red. 

Colton — was a railroad man; 
coal town. 

Compton — count's town; a sur- 
name. 

Concepcion — honors the Immac- 
ulate Conception. 

Concord — dwell togetlier in har- 
mony. 

Conejo — rabbit. 

Contra Costa — opposite coast. 

Copperopolis — copper city; has 
copper mines. 

Cordero — lamb. 



Coronado — a surname; crowned. 

Corralitos — little corral or cat- 
tle pen. 

Corte Madera — woody a rd. 

Coyote — wolf. 

Crescent City — built on a cres- 
cent-shaped bay. 

Cruz, Cruces — crosses. 

Cucamonga — nun of evil repute. 

Cuyamaca — it rains behind. 

Cypress Point — is covered with 
cypress. 

Death Valley — so-called for the 
man}' who died in crossing 
the valley. 

Dehesa — pasture ground. 

Del Mar — of the sea. 

Del Norte — of the north. 

Delta— the Greek letter D. 

De Luz — a surname; of light. 

Descanso — place of rest. 

Diablo — Devil's Mountain. 

Diego, Dieguito — James. 

Dirigo — a straight drive. 

Dolores — a woman's n a m e, 
meaning sorrowful. 

Dos Cabezas — two heads. 

Dos Palmas — two palms. 

Dos Pueblos— two villages. 

Dos Valles — two valleys. 

Downieville — After Major Dow- 
nie, who hrst found gold 
there. 

Downey — named after Governor 
Downey; a hilly slope. 

Drake's Bay — after Sir Francis 
Drake. 

Duarte — a surname. 

Dulzura — sweetness. 

El Capitan — the captain. 



322 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



El Casco — p lace of the wine- 
cask. 

El Cajon — the box, 

Eldorado — land of gold. 

El Molino — the mill. 

El Monte — the thicket. 

El Nido — the nest, meaning res- 
idence. 

El Paso — the pass. 

El Rite — where a ceremony is 
performed. 

El Sausal — willow grove. 

Elsinore — said to be taken from 
"Hamlet." 

Encinal — oak woods. 

Encinitas — little oaks. 

Encino — oak. 

Ensenada — bay. 

Escondido — hidden. 

Esparto — feather grass. 

Esperanza — hope. 

Espiritu Santo— holy spirit. 

Estero — a salt marsh. 

Estrella — star. 

Etna — mountain of fire. 

Eureka — I have found it (the 
motto of the state of Cali- 
fornia). 

Farallones — needles or small- 
pointed islands in the sea. 

Feliz — happy. 

Floras, Florin — flowers. 

Folsom — a surname. 

Fresno — the ash tree. 

Gavilan — sparrow hawk. 

Gallinas — chickens. 

Garcia — was an early settler. 

Garrote — strangling with an iron 
collar. 



Garvanza — pea blossom or wild 

sweet pea. The word maj^ 

be corrupt from garbanzo 

(chick-pea). 
Gaviota — gull. 
Goleta — schooner. 
Gordo — thick or fat. 
Gonzales — a surname. 
Graciosa — gracious. 
Granada — the pomegranate. 
Grantville — big town; named 

after Grant. 
Greenwich — green town. 
Guadalupe — river wolf. 
Gua — Indian for house by the 

water. 
Guaji — house of trees. 
Guajome — house by frog pond. 
Guatay — big house. 
Guajito — little house. 
Harford — where a hare can ford 

a stream. 
Healdsburg — H e a 1 d's town; 

healthy town. 
Hermosa, Hermosillo — beautiful. 
Hetch Hetchy — name of a grass 

the Indians used for food. 
Hollister — surname, meaning 

one who lives by the holly 

trees. 
Honda — deep. 
Hornitos — little oven. 
Hoya or JoUa — hole. 
Huacupen — warm house. 
Hueneme — house by the sea. 
Huron — hair. 
Ilpa (Mts.) — have acacias on 

them. 
Indio — Indian. 
Inez or Ynez — Agnes. 
Isleta — little island. 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



323 



Ja— water (Dicgueno language). 

Jacumba — hut by the water. 

Jacupin — warm water. 

Jamacha — scummy water, or the 
mock orange. 

Jamul — antelope water. 

Janal — mother of waters. 

Japatul — water baskets. 

Jemet — acorn valley. 

Joaquin — name of legendary fa- 
ther of the Virgin. 

Jolon — snow. 

Jornado Del Muerto — journey ot 
death. 

Juan — John. 

Juana — Jane. 

Juarez — a surname. 

Kern — was an explorer. 

La— the. 

La Brea — the asphalt. 

La Grulla — sand hill crane. 

Laguna — lake. 

La Jolla — is a word of doubtful 
origin; some say it means 
the jewel, others the hollow. 

La Junta — the junction. 

La Mesa — the table. 

La Pateira — the duck pond. 

La Paz — peace. 

La Playa — the beach. 

La Presa — the dam. 

La Porte — the port. 

La Punta — the point or cape. 

Las Animas — the ringing bells. 

Las Flores — the flowers. 

Las Posas — the wells. 

Las Positas y Calera — the 
springs and the lim-e-kiln. 

Las Vegas — the meadows. 

Leon — lion. 

Lerdo — slow. 



Lalgas — place of thorns. 

Lobos — wolves. 

Lodi — from a race horse of that 
name._ 

Loma — hill. 

Lorenzo — Lawrence. 

Los Alamos — the poplars. 

Los Angeles — the angels. 

Los Banos — the baths. 

Los Berros — the water cresses. 

Los Coches — the pigs. 

Los Coronades — tonsured 
priests. 

Los Cueros — the hides. 

Los Feliz — the lucky. 

Los Gatos — the cats. 

Los Medanos — the sand banks 
on the seashore. 

Los Nietos— the grandsons. 

Los Osos — the bears. 

Los Prietos — the dark place. 

Los Robles — the oaks. 

Lugo — man's name; a kind of 
linen. 

Madera — wood. 

Madrone — strawberry tree. 

Maneadero— hobbling ground 
for hors-es. 

Manzanita — little apple; a moun- 
tain shrub. 

Mare — sea. 

Marin — was an Indian chief. 

Mariposa — "butterfly" lilies. 

Martinez — Martin; a surname. 

Mataquaquat — red earth. 

Mendocino — little liar; a sur- 
name. 

Menifee— a surname. 

Merced — mercy. 

Mesa Grande — big table land. 



324 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



Mesilla— little flat-topped hill. 

Milpitas — little garden. 

Milquatay — big foot valley. 

Mitaraqui — crooked land. 

Modesto — modest. 

Modoc Indians — strangers. 

Mojave or Mohave — three moun- 
tains; Indian tribe by that 
name also. Mohave is In- 
dian. Mojave is Spanish. 
Indian spelling preferred. 

Montecito — little hill or wood. 

Montara — mountain of earth. 

Mono — monkey. 

Monte Diablo — devil's mountain. 

Montecito, Monticello — little 
hill. 

Monterey — mountain king. 

Monserrate — a surname; notch- 
ed mountain. 

Moreno — brown. 

Morro — large, bare rock. 

Napa — a brave Indian tribe 
wiped out by smallpox in 
1838. 

Nevada — white with snow. 

Nogales — native California wal- 
nut. 

Novato, Nuevo — new. 

Olancha — large waves. 

Oleta — oily. 

Olla — jar in which to hold wa- 
ter. 

Oro Grande — big gold. 

Oro Fino — fine gold. 

Oroville — gold town. 

Otay — big. 

Pacheco — a surname. 

Paguay — meeting of the valleys. 

Pajaro — bird. 

Pala — water. 



Palo Alto — tall wood. 

Palos Verdes — green sticks. 

Pasadena — crown of the valley. 

Paso Robles — pass of oaks. 

Pescadero — fishing place. 

Petaluma — low hills. 

Pinole — grains or seeds parched 
and ground. 

Pinos — pines. 

Pinon — pine nut. 

Pismo — said to be Indian, place 
of fish. 

Piano — plain. 

Plaza — a public scjuare. 

Plumas — feathers. 

Pomona — goddess of fruits. 

Posa — a spring or a passing bell. 

Potrero — pasture ground. 

Presidio — garrison or peniten- 
tiary. 

Puente — bridge. 

Pujol — a surname. 

Punta Arenas — point of sands. 

Purissima — most pure. 

Ranchito — little farm. 

Redondo — round. 

Reyes — kings. 

Rincon — inside corner. 

Rio Grande — big river. 

Rio Seco — dry river. 

Rio Vista — river view. 

Sacramento — in honor of the 
Holy Sacrament. 

Sal— salt. 

Salazar — sally. 

Salida — a start. 

Salinas — salty. 

San, Santa, Santo — Spanish for 
saint. Many places in Cali- 
ifornia are named in honor 



CALIFORNIA HISTORY 



325 



of the saints: a few places 

were discovered or founded 

on the day of the saint whose 

name they bear. 
Santa Ana— St. Anna was the 

mother of the Virgin and 

signifies "gracious." 
San Pasqual — holy passover. 
San Juan Capistrano— St. John 

Capistrano. 
San Luis Obispo — Saint Louis, 

the Bishop of Toulouse. 
Santa Fe— holy faith. 
San Mateo — St. Matthew. 
Saratoga — place of water in 

rocks. 
Sausalito— little willow grove. 
Shasta — men; Indians; some- 
times said to m-ean stone 

house. 
Sierra — a saw. 
Sierra Madre — mountains of the 

mother (of Christ). 
Sierra Nevada — mountains white 

with snow. 
Sierra Nevada — Saw-tooth. 
Solana — sunny. 
Solano — east wind. 
Soledad — solitary. 
Soto — a grove. 
Stanislaus — a Spanish Christian 

name. 
Sumi — sunken. 
Suisun — big expanse. 
Sur — south. 
Tahoe — big wat-cr. 
Tamalpais — from two Indian 

words. tamal (bay), pais 

(mountain). 



Teaco — black. 

Tehama — low land. 

Tehachapi — an .Indian word, 
may be derived from tribal 
name. 

Tejon — badger. 

Temecula — the rising sun. 

Temescal — sweat house. 

Tia Juana — Aunt Jane. Tf of In- 
dian derivation it means "by 
the sea." 

Toro— a bull. 

Trabuco — tumbled about. 

Tres Pinos — three pines. 

Trinidad — Trinity. 

Tulare — place of tules or rushes. 

Tuolumne — from Indian word 
"talmalaume". meaning clus- 
ter of stone wigwams. 

Ukiah — south valley. 

VacavlUe — cow town, or from a 
family named Vaca. 

Valle Bautista— Baptist Valley. 

Vallejo — little valley; named af- 
ter G-eneral Vallejo. 

Vega — meadow. 

Ventura — contraction of San 
Buenaventura, which means 
good chance. 

Vina — a vineyard. 

Visalia — -look-out place.. 

Volcrn — volcano. 

Wilmington — Williams' town. 

Verba Buena — a fragrant plant. 

Yolo — tules or rushes. 

Yreka — cave mountain. 

Yo Semite — grizzly bear. 

Yuba — probably taken from uva, 
Spanish word for grapes. 



326 



INDEX 



Admission California into the Union, 
201 

Almonds. 240 

American flag in California, 201 

Anza, 51 

Anza, first trip, across the desert, 52 

Anza, second trip, across the desert to 
the Bay of San Francisco, 53, 54-57 

Anza, locates the site of San Fran- 
cisco, 57, 58 

Aeroplanes in forest service, 270 

Arguello. Luis, 79, 85 

Arguello, Concepcion, 101 

Armistice, 202 

r.alboa, 9 

Balboa at Darien, 10 

Balboa's discovery of the Pacific, 11 

Balboa's death, 13 

Barrovi's, David P., 220 

Bear Flag- Republic, 96 

Beale, Edward, 134 

Benton, Senator, 117, 123 

Berkeley, 302 

Bidwell, John, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 

144 " 
Bidwell, Annie Kennedy, 142 
Booth, Newton, 209 
Breen, Patrick, 151 
Burnett, Peter H., 205 
Budd, Tames H., 210 
Burbank, Luther, 240, 243 

California, the name. 19 

California names, 320 

Cabrillo, 20 

Cabrillo, discovers Bav of San Diego, 

20 
Cabrillo's death. 22 
Cabeza de Vaca, 23 
Cape Mendocino, 184 
Carson, Kit, 118, 125 
California admitted to the L'nion, 201- 

206 
Campbell. Fred M., 215 
Cereals, 240 
Cibola, 23 

Civic Center. San Francisco, 282 
Chico. 142 

Chaflfee and Chamberlain. 181 
Conservation. 267, 268, 269 
Coronado, 22. 23 
Coolbrith. 233 
Cortes, 17 

Cortes connuers ^lexico. 17. IS 
Cortes constructs shtjivard. 18 
Cortes m?kes final settlement at Santa 

Cruz (La Paz). 19 
Cortes' death, 19 
Costanzo. 35 
Cotton, 241 

County Free Library service. 216 
CresDi, 35. 40 
Crocker, Charles, 256, 257 

Death Vallev. 195. 196. 197 
Discovery of the Pacific. 11 
Discovery of Lower California. 18 
Discovery of the Bay of San Diego, 20 



Discoverv of the Port of Los Ange- 
les, 284 

Discovery of the Bay of Monterey, 26 

Discovery of Drake's Bay, 30 

Discovery of the Bay of San Fran- 
cisco, 41, 42 

Discovery of gold. 160 

Discovery of Trinitv Bav (Hum.boklt), 
184 

Donner Partv. 149-159 

Drake, Sir Francis. 28 

Drake, holds first Proti-stant reliijious 
service. 31 

Drake's vovage around tlie v>or!.'I, 29. 
30. 31 

Drake's death, 32 

Eel River. 190 
Eureka, 193 

Fages, 36 
Ferrelo, 22 

'First vovage around the world, 16 
First white man to land on California 

soil, 18 
First settlement at San Diego, S6, 37 
First American overland joutney. 112 
First newspaper in California, 224 
First railroad in California, 255 
Founding of City of Los Angeles, 40, 

282 
Founding of San Francisco, 5S, 272 
Founding of Oakland. 290 
Founding of San Diego. 294 
Founding of Sacramento, 296 
Founding of Long Beach. 300 
Founding of Berkeley, 302 
Founding of Pasadena. 303 
Founding of Fresno, 304 
Founding of Stockton, 304 
Founding of San Jose. 305 
Founding of Santa Barbara. 305, 306 
Foltz, Clara Shortridge, 211 
Forty-nine, 180 
Fort Ross, 98, 99 
Fremont. Tohn Charles, 96. 116. 117. 

119. 121, 123, 126, 127, 128, 130, 

131. 133, 136, 138, 139. 
Fremont. Jessie Benton, 117, 137 
Fresno, 304 

Galvez, 33. 35 

Cilroy. 128 _ 

Gillespie. Lieutenant Archibald, 128. 

134 
Cillett. James N., 210 
Cillis. J." L., 216 
Gold. 160. 182. 239 
Gold at San Fernando, 161 
Gold in South Fork American River, 

165 
Golden Era. 224 
Golden G^te Park. 277 
Grapes, 241 
Gregg, Dr. Josiah, 184 

Hangtown. 177 
Harte, Bret, 226. 227 
Hoover, Herbert, 222 



INDEX 



327 



Hopkins, Mark, 255 
Horton, A. E., 295 
Humboldt Bay, 185, 189, 192 
Hunting-ton, Collis P., 255 
Huntington, Henry E., 287 
Hyatt, Edward, 215 

Ide, William B., 130, 131 

Imperial Valley, 260-265 

Indians, 59 

Indians as the Spanish found them, 

60, 66 
Indians under Mission control, 66-69 
Indians under Mexican government, 

69, 70, 71, 12, 75, 90, 91 
Indians, John Bidwell's treatment of 

143 
Indian reservations, 75, 11 
Irrigation. 45, 260 
Isles of the Amazons, 18 

James, George \N'harton, 235 

jiminez, 18 

Johnson, Hiram W., 210, 211 

Jordan, David Starr, 220 

Tudah, Theodore, 255 

Kearny, 133, 134, 136 

Kearny, Dennis, 209 

King Bill, 218 

King, Thomas Starr, 243 

La Paz, 18, 19 

Landmarks, 307 

Lasuen, 47, 49 

Lassen, Peter, 145-148 

Leland Stanford University, 222 

Literature, 223 

Low, Frederick F., 208 

Los Angeles aqueduct, 287 

Long Beach, 300, 301 

Magellan, 14 

Magellan discovers the Straits, 15 

Magellan names the I'acific, 15 

Magellan's death, 16 

Manly, William Lewis, 195 

Marshall, James W.. lol, 170 171, 

173. 174, 175 
Markham. Edwin, 233 
Marcos, Friar, 24 
Mason, Richard B., 207 
Mexican Governors, 85 

Arguello, 79, 85 

Echeandia, 85, 87-89 

Victoria, 85, 89 

Castro. 85, 93, 96 

Figueroa. 85, 90, 91, 92 

Pico, 85 

Guiterez, 85 

Chico, 85, 93 

Alvarado, 85, 94, 95 

Micheltorena, 85, 95, 96 

Pico, 85, 96, 97 
Mining, 170, 171, 173, 174, 175 
Mighels, Ella Sterling, 235 
Miller, Joaquin, 225, 227, 228 ^'>9 

231 
Mission Dolores, 272 



Muir, John, 235 
]\luir Woods, 269 

New Constitution, 209-215 

National Parks. 267 

Native Daughters of the Golden West, 

307 
Native Sons of the Golden West, 307 

Oakland, 290 

Oil, 242, 245 

Ortega, 41, 42 

Overland journeys, 112, 115, 149, 195 

Overland Monthly, 227 

Pacific Railroad Bill, 256 

Panama Canal, 11 

Panama Pacific International Exposi- 
tion, 280 

Palou, 35, 224 

Pardee, George C, 210 

Pasadena, 303 

I'erkins, George C, 209 

I'elton, John C, 213 

Phelan, James D., 2Z1 

Poinsetta named, 117 

Pony Express, 253 

I'ortola, ZZ 

]*ortola at San Diego. 35. 36 

Portola in search of Monterey Bav. 
37-42 

Portola^ at Montara, 41 

Portola's men discover Bay of San 
Francisco, 41, 42 

Port Los Angeles, 284, 290 

Prairie schooner, 252 

Private schools, 213, 222 

Public schools, 213 

Railroad commission, 211 

Railroads. Pacific, 256 

Reed and Snyder tragedy, 153 

Rezanof, 99, 100, 101 

Rice, 241 

Rolph, James. Jr., administration. 279 

Romantic California, 102-111 

Fiestas, 108 

Clothes, 105 

Hospitality, 106 

Weddings, 110 
Russians in California, 94, 98, 99, 100. 

101 
Russian River, 98 

Sacramento, 296 

Salton Sea, 262, 263 

San Carlos, 35, 51 

San Diego, 294 

San Jose, 305 

Santa Barbara. 305 

San Francisco, 272, 273, 277 

Seal of California, 204 

Save the redwoods, 269 

Serra, 35 

Serra holds first religious service, 36 

Serra and the Missions, 44, 45, 46 

Serra's death, 47 

Seven Cities of Cibola, 23 

Shortridge, Samuel M., 211, 212 



328 



INDEX 



Smith, Je.lediah, Hi, ll.>, 114 
Spanish governors — 

Portola, 78 

Barri, 78, 81 

Neve, 78 

Fages, 79-82 

Uomeu, 79-82 

IJoiica, 79 

ArrilaRa, 79. 83 

Sola, 79, 83. 84. 86 
Sloat. 96. 133 
Straits of Anian, 20 
Stanford. Leland. 208, 256 
Sutter, 94. 122. 159. 165, 167 
Stockton, Commodore R. P.. 135 
Swett. John. 214, 215, 218 
Sutro, Adolph, l}!! 



Teachers' Colleges. 215, 218 
Teachers' Pension Law. 211 
Townsend-^Iurphv partv, 157 
Twain. :\rark, 223 
Travel to California. 252 
Transportation, 252-259 



nioa, 19 

L'niversity of California. 219 

I'niversitv of California. Southern 

P.ranch. 220 
L'niversity of Santa Clara. Ill 

Vaca. 23 

Vallejo. 96, 131 

Vigilantes. 275 

Vines. 241 

Vizcaino, 25 

Vizcaino in search of pearls. 25, 26 

Walker. William. 295 

Wagner. ^ladge Morris. 234 

Walter. Carrie Stevens, 239 

War with Mexico, 202 

White, Stephen Mallory, 246 251 

\N'oman's suffrage, 210 

Wilhur. Rav. Ill 

Wood. Will C, 218 

War service. 244 

Verba IJuena, 111, 111, 275 



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